Quail Egg Braised Pork (More Lean Meat)

Select a piece of pork belly and a piece of lean meat. Cut the pork belly into small pieces of 1.5–2cm, and the lean meat into smaller pieces, half the size of the pork belly cubes (too large and it will become tough).

It should look like this.

Add cold water to the pot, put the pork belly in cold water, boil, and then remove and rinse. Blanch the lean meat for half a minute, remove and rinse. Use the same water to boil the quail eggs for about 5 minutes until cooked.

Add a little vegetable oil to the pot, and render some fat out from the pork belly by stir-frying (since the pork belly I bought was too fatty; if yours is leaner, just fry it briefly). No need to fry the lean meat.

In another pot, caramelize rock sugar (I rushed through this step, so no photos). Then add the meat to the pot and stir-fry over low heat for half a minute. Add beer, spices, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms, and simmer for more than half an hour.

Meanwhile, peel the boiled quail eggs, and if desired, fry them until the surface is golden and crispy (this makes them more flavorful, but it's optional depending on your preference).

Add the quail eggs to the pot 10 minutes before finishing, and simmer together until the liquid almost evaporates. Stir occasionally to reduce the sauce. (If the color isn’t deep enough, add a bit more dark soy sauce before finishing. For a sweeter taste, add some white sugar or brown sugar.)