Delicious and Aromatic - Braised Pork Belly with Quail Eggs (Low-oil Healthy Version)

Picked a good slab of pork belly from the market; the marbling is beautiful! If you like it fattier, you can pick a slab with more fat.

This time, I won’t blanch the pork. Soak it in cold water with green onions and ginger for 1-2 hours.

Drain it, pat it dry, and cut it into chunks (I cut them quite large today, haha).

Place quail eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, cook for 2 minutes, then place in cold water and peel.

Now let’s make caramelized sugar. Heat a little oil in a pot and melt some rock sugar.

It’s good to go when it looks like this. Set it aside for later.

Prepare to render some fat from the pork belly. This helps remove the gamey flavor and some excess fat. Heat oil in a pan, add green onions and ginger.

Fry until golden brown, then remove the green onions and ginger.

Add the pork belly and render some fat.

Fry until the skin of the pork is golden and slightly crispy.

Pour out the rendered fat to use in other dishes. Transfer the pork to a cast iron pot. The hot pot creates a roasting effect—look at that magical steam!

Add hot water, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick, green onion, ginger, cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and caramelized sugar. Simmer on low heat.

After about 30 minutes, add quail eggs and salt.

Continue to simmer for 40 more minutes, then reduce the sauce over high heat. Remove the green onion, ginger, star anise, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick.

Turn off the heat. The aroma is irresistible, and the color is so inviting.

Look at this pork belly; it’s absolutely gorgeous. Take a bite, and it’s tender, bouncy, and not greasy at all. The quail eggs are perfectly braised and full of flavor too.