Braised Pork Belly In Ginger, Garlic & Soy

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Braised pork belly – one of the finest culinary blessings God has bestowed upon us 🙂
I like to prepare pork belly in many different versions, both Western style and Asian style (one of them being the famous Hong Shao Rou), but one of my most-loved variation is the one featured here. It resembles Hong Shao Rou a bit, but I keep the sauce more liquid and spicy, without adding rock sugar, red coloring, shaoxing wine or tofu puffs. The outcome is a much lighter, less complex version which I sometimes enjoy better than the more complicated and heavy Hong Shao Rou, especially when pairing with rice. On the other hand, if I forgo starch and pair the pork belly with vegetables such as bok choy, cabbage or broccoli only, I prefer to accompany it with Hong Shao Rou, since it’s thicker sauce is more suitable. Aren’t we fortunate that we can choose? 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Preparation :
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: 2 lbs pork belly cut into cubes, 1 stick cinnamon, star anis to taste, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1/3 tsp grated ginger, 2 cup water, 3 ea sliced scallion (plus more for garnish), kosher salt and chili sauce to taste

: bring all ingredients to a slow simmer

: simmer until pork is tender but not falling apart and there is about 1/2 cup cooking liquid left (you might have to add more water during cooking); check / adjust seasoning

: to serve, sprinkle with finely sliced scallions and accompany with steamed rice (Fan) ( P.S. – if you serve to guests and/or children, you might want to remove the star anis and cinnamon stick before serving)