Quail Eggs Braised Pork Belly with Less Oil

Cut pork belly into pieces with both fat and lean meat. Prepare quail eggs, scallion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, and rock sugar.

Put pork belly, ginger slices, and a little scallion in a pot of cold water. Add cooking wine and bring to a boil.

Skim the foam, take out the meat, and wash clean.

Since I want as little oil as possible, spray just a tiny bit of oil into the pan (about 5 sprays) and then stir-fry the pork belly.

Fry over low to medium heat patiently. Slowly, the fat from the pork belly will melt out on its own.

Once the surface of the pork belly is golden, take it out. This is oil extracted from the pork belly itself, and there's no need to add more oil.

Add rock sugar and stir until melted. When the color deepens, add the pork belly for coloring, then toss in scallion, ginger, and garlic.

This is the color achieved by caramelized rock sugar, even before adding soy sauce. The color is already fantastic. Next, add light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, stir-fry, and add water.

Add bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and quail eggs. If you have time, make two shallow cuts on the quail eggs to help absorb flavor. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low heat.

Once the meat is tender, taste and fine-tune the seasoning. I added a little salt today. Then reduce the sauce.

Plate the dish. I removed the spices and ginger for convenience since it's easier for kids to eat. My baby ate a lot!