Red-Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou)
Tianjin-style red-braised pork: pork belly is first boiled, then deep-fried, and finally steamed until tender, giving it an appearance similar to shaobai (steamed pork with rice flour) or preserved mustard greens steamed pork (meicai kou rou).
Ingredients
pork belly (skin removed)
to taste
caramel coloring
a pinch
ginger (placed at the bottom of the bowl)
to taste
salt
to taste
cooking wine
to taste
fried gluten (used as a base layer)
to taste
Instructions
1
Blanch the pork
Cook the pork belly until it is about 50–60% done.
2
Color the pork
Transfer the pork to a wok, add a small amount of caramel coloring, and stir-fry until it turns a rich golden yellow (this technique is called sitting in the oil ladle).
3
Render out excess fat
Heat oil over high heat, thread the pork onto iron chopsticks, lower it into the hot oil, and fry for about one minute to drive off excess moisture and fat. Lift the pork out as soon as small bubbles form on the skin.
4
Cut into strips
Cut the pork into strips roughly 4 fen long by 1 fen thick (about 1.2 cm × 0.3 cm).
5
Steam the pork
Place the ginger at the bottom of a medium bowl, lay the pork strips on top, season with salt and cooking wine, and steam until completely tender and the flavors have melded.
6
Plate and serve
Assemble the steamed pork onto a serving platter over the fried gluten, invert the bowl so the pork forms a neat molded shape, and bring to the table.
