Let's Eat Together – Low-Oil Version Braised Pork Belly
My daughter, studying away from home, came back during the National Day holidays and said she wanted to eat braised pork belly with vermicelli. As a mom, of course, I happily fulfilled her request. Worried about gaining weight, so I used as little oil and salt as possible. 😊
Ingredients
Steps
Prepare all the ingredients: Clean the pork belly in hot water after removing any hair and cut it into pieces. Cut scallions into sections, slice ginger, and halve garlic cloves.
Put the pork belly into the pan and slowly render out the fat over low heat before increasing to medium heat. (Shortcut: directly use a pressure cooker to reduce the number of dishes to wash😅)
Pour out the excess oil, leaving either a small amount or none at all. (Not fond of oily dishes, so I mostly drain the fat.)
Push the meat to the side, then add three spoons of sugar to the center (rock sugar is also fine).
Slowly caramelize the sugar over low heat (be careful not to burn it, as it will turn bitter).
Mix the meat and sugar evenly, then add a generous amount of light soy sauce and stir well.
Sprinkle in some Five-Spice Powder and mix well.
Pour in two cans of beer and add a little water, then bring to a boil. (I wanted more broth, so I added more water. For thicker sauce, add less water.)
Add the scallion segments, garlic cloves, and ginger slices to the pot, followed by two spoons of soybean paste. Cover the lid and pressure-cook for 15 minutes once it starts steaming.
Release the pressure and open the lid, then scoop out the excess broth and meat.
Divide the scooped broth and meat into portions, store them in freezer bags, and freeze. They can be used later to top rice or noodles, which is excellent.
Leave just enough in the pot for one meal for the family.
Add vermicelli and briefly simmer. (My daughter loves vermicelli.)
Once the vermicelli is cooked, add a small amount of chopped scallions and minced garlic, sprinkle some salt, and stir well.
The pork belly is rich but not greasy, melts in your mouth, and is less oily compared to those served in cafeterias. No need to worry about weight gain – indulgence without guilt. 😄