Red-Braised Pork
If you've got skin-on pork belly, scallions and star anise, you're most of the way to this Chinese pork: about 65 minutes of cooking across 6 steps. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 6 steps.
You'll mainly reach for saucepan and wok. At medium difficulty across 6 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (4)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Cut the pork belly into 3 cm cubes, then blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes to remove scum, drain, and rinse clean.
- In a cold wok add the oil and rock sugar over low heat, stirring until the sugar melts to an amber caramel, about 4 minutes, then add the pork and toss to coat every piece in the glossy colour.
- Add the ginger, white parts of the scallions, star anise, cinnamon and bay leaves and stir for 1 minute until fragrant, then pour in the shaoxing wine, light soy and dark soy and stir to combine.
- Pour in enough hot water to nearly cover the meat, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 1 hour, stirring occasionally so it does not catch.
- Uncover, raise the heat and reduce the sauce for 15 to 20 minutes until it clings as a thick syrupy glaze and the pork is fork-tender and reaches at least 75 C inside.
- Season with salt if needed, discard the whole spices, scatter the sliced scallion greens over the top and serve hot with steamed rice.
You'll use: Saucepan Β· Wok Β· Steamer
Ingredient substitutions
- Soy Sauce
- tamari (gluten-free) Β· coconut aminos
What to serve with Red-Braised Pork
- Kung Pao Chicken Chicken
- Kung Po Prawns Seafood
- Ma Po Tofu Beef
- Szechuan Beef Beef
Tips & common questions
How long does Red-Braised Pork take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 6 steps and 13 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of soy sauce?
Try tamari (gluten-free). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Red-Braised Pork is an original Chinese recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Mao-style braised pork lunch box ordered from Changshanan (20181216113449).jpg by N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.