Braised Pork Belly with Potatoes - The Ultimate Meal Companion
Went grocery shopping today, and oh my, these potatoes look amazing! They’re beautiful, symmetrical, and so festive-looking! Bought them! Now, what to pair with potatoes? How about braised pork belly! Haven't had it in over a month, so let's go for it! Speaking of braised pork belly with potatoes, it reminds me of my childhood in kindergarten... In my memory, I loved eating braised pork belly with potatoes. I'd always grab a spoon and fish out a piece or two of meat from the pile of potatoes, feeling utterly satisfied. Now that I think about it, was that dish really braised pork belly with potatoes? Well, that’s how I remember it, and the memory has stayed with me to this day... 😂
Ingredients
Steps
Cut the pork into chunks, about 2-3 cm wide. Don't make them too small. The pork will shrink slightly when stewing. I used a mix of pork belly and pork rump as someone in my family refuses to eat fatty meat and only eats lean meat.
Chop the green onion into sections and slice the ginger. Prepare star anise, rock sugar, and cinnamon stick.
Heat the pot and add a small amount of oil. When the oil is about 50-60% hot, add the pork belly and stir-fry it on low heat to render the fat out. If there’s more lean meat, you can slightly increase the oil amount.
Once partially done, push the meat to one side of the pot and add rock sugar. Stir-fry it on low heat. It's okay if the sugar doesn’t completely melt; it won’t impact the next steps. Just don't over-fry as it might turn bitter. (You can crush the rock sugar while frying it, but it’s also fine if it doesn’t get crushed.)
Once it’s more or less done, add star anise, cinnamon, green onion, and ginger. Stir-fry, then add cooking wine and soy sauce, and stir-fry again.
Add hot water to cover the pork belly. Turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer it for 40 minutes to an hour.
While stewing, cut the potatoes. Cut them into whatever size you like, and peeling them is optional. Just don’t cut them too small to prevent them from disintegrating and becoming mush. 😂
After about 15 minutes, the potatoes should be ready. Taste and adjust the saltiness; add more salt if it’s not salty enough. Someone might ask, ‘What if it’s too salty?’... Well, there’s a way to fix that too! 😂 Pour out some of the broth, then add some hot water! Reduce the sauce on high heat. If you like it for mixing with rice, leave more sauce.
Serve the finished dish! Starving! The whole plate was devoured in no time!ヾ(@^▽^@)ノ