Chestnut 🌰 Braised Pork Belly [Time-saving and More Delicious! Maxim Non-stick Pan]
A new friend has joined the kitchen [Maxim Non-stick Pan] with micro-pressure functionality, making cooking with it more convenient and faster. The lid is edged with food-grade silicone, effectively retaining the nutritional value of the food and enhancing the flavor! With a 24CM flat-bottomed diameter, it is versatile for frying, stir-frying, stewing, boiling, deep-frying, and braising, all in one pan! In autumn, my favorite is braised pork belly cooked with chestnuts—fragrant, tender, and incredibly tempting! No matter if it's Dongpo pork, stewed meat... nothing beats mom's homemade braised pork belly!
Ingredients
Steps
Prepare the ingredients.
Cut the pork belly into pieces. No need to blanch it beforehand; directly sautéing it will release more aroma.
Chestnuts can be purchased pre-shelled. If they come with shells, immerse them in salted hot water for 5 minutes. Once the water has cooled to a touchable temperature, continue soaking and use a knife or scissors to cut an opening for easy peeling. Soak the peeled chestnuts in salted water to prevent oxidation and discoloration.
The Maxim Non-stick Pan doesn’t require oil. Add pork belly, ginger slices, and garlic cloves to release the fat. *Excess fat can be set aside for stir-frying vegetables—it’s wonderfully aromatic!
Next, immediately add rock sugar and stir-fry until fully melted. At this point, the pork belly will appear even more appealing with a caramelized aroma. *Alternatively, you can caramelize the sugar separately: remove the meat, melt the rock sugar alone into caramel, then add the pork belly back. I think both methods work just as well!
Season with 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of cooking wine, and the spice mix. *Usually, I’d use star anise and bay leaves. Alternatively, you can skip these to emphasize the meat’s natural flavor. (Home cooking is flexible, haha.)
Stir evenly, then add enough hot water (hot water! hot water!) to submerge the meat. Using hot water ensures the meat remains tender. If additional water is needed during stewing, always use hot water!
Cover with the lid and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. In a regular pot, tenderizing the meat takes about 50-60 minutes. The Maxim Non-stick Pan is finely crafted and has a stylish design. With a one-piece molded pan body and curved pan design, it allows even heating on the outside and ergonomic flipping on the inside. The micro-pressure functionality makes cooking more convenient and quicker. The lid, edged with food-grade silicone, effectively locks in nutrients, making the finished dish even more flavorful!
The dual-color anti-scald handle feels comfortable to grip.
The tempered glass lid with a standable handle/support.
Equipped with an automatic pressure release valve (automatically releases excess steam when the internal pressure builds up) and a manual pressure release button (enabling mid-cooking lid openings under micro-pressure). Double safety protection!
After simmering for 20 minutes, add the chestnuts, stir well, and cover again for another 15 minutes. The whole cooking process only takes 35 minutes, compared to about 90 minutes for similar results with a regular pot!
Finally, turn up the heat slightly to thicken the sauce (but don’t dry it out). The concentrated sauce is perfect for drizzling over rice—you know how good it is!
OK, plate up and garnish with green onions!
A dish that looks, smells, and tastes amazing~
Fragrant, tender, and utterly tempting! YUMMY~