If you goons are going to be making red cooked pork at home, you better do it the right way and represent.
Servings: 4
Prep time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
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Ingredients
1 pound|454 grams pork belly, lean cut preferred
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
3 scallions, white and green parts, cut into 2-inch lengths
2 dried red chiles
1 (2-inch) piece cassia bark or cinnamon stick
1 (¾-inch) piece fresh ginger, unpeeled and sliced
1 star anise
light (regular) soy sauce, to taste
kosher salt, to taste
cooked white rice, for serving
Directions
- Fill a wok with water and bring to a boil over high. Add the pork and cook slightly, for 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and cool. Discard the cooking liquid.
- When the pork is cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch pieces.
- Put the sugar and oil into the wok and heat over medium-high. When the sugar melts, increase the heat and stir until the sugar caramelizes and turns golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Lower the heat slightly, add the pork the rice wine. Add water to just cover the pork, about 3 cups. Add ⅔ of the scallions, the chiles, cassia, ginger, and star anise and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, covered, until the pork is tender, about 45 minutes.
- Uncover and bring to a boil. Reduce the mixture by half, about 10 minutes. Taste and season with the sugar, soy, and salt. Aim for a savory, faintly sweet flavor.
- To serve, transfer to a bowl and garnish with the remaining scallion. Serve with rice.
The recipe was adapted from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop (W. W. Norton 2007).
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