Finished dish photo of Braised Pork Belly So Easy Even Your 8-Year-Old Can Make It! No Oil Needed!!! Perfect for Guests!

Braised Pork Belly So Easy Even Your 8-Year-Old Can Make It! No Oil Needed!!! Perfect for Guests!

Last time, some friends mentioned they weren't good at caramelizing sugar. So let's make pork belly without frying. No need to worry about oil splatters or burns. The whole process just requires: pork belly + seasonings + water. Boil. And it's done.

Ingredients

Pork belly700g
Eggs6
Ginger slices7-8 slices
Bay leaves2
Star anise1
Cinnamon stick1
Rock sugar (can be reduced or omitted if not preferred)3 pieces
Hua Diao wine5 tbsp
Light soy sauce5 tbsp
Dark soy sauce1 tbsp

Steps

1

Bought 2 packs of pork belly. Total 700g.

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2

Blanch. Rinse clean.

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3

Put the meat into the pot. 7-8 ginger slices + 1 star anise + 2 bay leaves + 1 cinnamon stick

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4

3 pieces of rock sugar. You can omit or reduce the amount of sugar. In Wuxi, we prefer a savory-sweet taste, so don't question this! ๐Ÿ˜‚

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5

Add it to the pot with the meat.

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6

Use a small ceramic soup spoon. 5 tbsp of Hua Diao wine. Any cooking wine or yellow wine works. Aged Hua Diao is more fragrant, but the purpose is the sameโ€”to remove the gaminess. So don't stress over the type. Any cooking wine is fine. ๐Ÿ˜„

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7

5 tbsp of Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce. I even told you the brand. โ˜บ

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8

1 tbsp of dark soy sauce.

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9

Add water to cover all the meat and seasonings.

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10

While preparing the pork, I boiled some eggs first. I always think braised pork with marinated eggs is amazing. Really. Truly.

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After the pork with all ingredients and water boils, add the boiled eggs. Cook together.

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12

Boil on high heat first to bring up the scum.

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13

Slowly skim off the scum.

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14

This clear state is correct. Okay. Now cover and simmer the meat patiently. Don't rush. After covering, turn to low heat to simmer.

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After simmering for half an hour.

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After simmering for an hour.

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After simmering on low heat for an hour, remove the lid. Turn the low flame to high. High. High. We're going to reduce the sauce for this pot of pork belly.

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Don't rush the sauce reduction. Some friends reported failing to reduce the sauce. Just be patient. This is after 10 minutes of reduction. Today, I kept track of the time.

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After 15 minutes of high-heat reduction.

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Keep the high flame. After 15 minutes, you'll need to stir the pork belly constantly with a spatula to prevent sticking.

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I'll pick out and discard the spices. Makes eating the meat more enjoyable. ๐Ÿ˜‚

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There. The sauce is reduced. ๏ผพ๏ผ๏ผพ~ I didn't plate it. Just ate it straight from the pot. ๐Ÿ˜

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Even after turning off the heat, it's still bubbling. Hahaha. So delicious. This calls for 2 bowls of rice ๐Ÿš.

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Simply irresistible. ๐Ÿ˜Œโ˜บ

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The reduced sauce looks like this. Not broth anymoreโ€”it's a rich glaze.

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Add a marinated egg. So good it makes me cry ๐Ÿ˜ญ. Too delicious. My vocabulary fails me. Forgive me.

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Take a bite. Drizzle some sauce. Not inferior to the pork belly at all. 6 eggs weren't enough. My fault for not adding more. ๐Ÿ™„

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Skin-on pork belly. Bone-in pork belly. Not greasy at all. Really. Super, super, super delicious. Okay, my speech is over. Now go make this pork belly.

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Cooking Tips

If you don't like sweet flavors, omit the rock sugar and add 1 tbsp of Pixian chili bean paste or Lao Gan Ma. Thanks. Don't criticize me for adding so much sugar. This braised pork is super simple. Even simpler than the caramelized ribs from before. You must, must, must try it. ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜‹๐Ÿค“ Spicy lovers can also add a few dried chilies and a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns. Very fragrant. I've done it before. Delicious. ๐Ÿ˜