Red braised pork belly is named 紅燒肉 (hóng shāo ròu) in Chinese. The name “hóng shāo” refers to the signature red-braising technique, which involves slow-cooking the meat in a sauce made from soy sauce, rock sugar, and spices, resulting in its deep red colour and caramelised sweetness. The dish is fatty yet not greasy, and a perfect combination of sweet, savoury, and umami flavours.
Red braised pork belly is a beloved home-cooked dish across China, with regional variations found in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Sichuan cuisines. In Shanghai, it is made with a stronger sweet and savoury balance, while in Hunan, it has a bolder spicy and aromatic taste. Today, hóng shāo ròu remains a staple at family gatherings, festive celebrations, and banquet tables, carrying the warmth of tradition in every bite. For this recipe, I leaned towards the Shanghai-style approach, as I enjoy the sweeter variation.
Ingredients
- Pork belly is the star of the dish. Its balance of meat and fat creates a rich and tender texture when braised. Cutting it into cubes helps it absorb the sauce evenly.
Blanching the pork belly helps remove impurities and any unwanted porky smell to ensure a cleaner and fresher flavour:
- Scallions helps remove any gaminess from the pork. It is tied in a knot to keep the scallions together for easy removal after blanching.
- Ginger slices neutralises strong meaty smell and adds a warm and fresh aroma.
- Shaoxing wine also removes gaminess, enhances depth of flavour, and acts as a tenderiser.
Aromatics & Spices:
- Ginger helps remove any strong porky smell and adds a warming, slightly spicy aroma.
- Garlic provides a fragrant base and enhances the savoury flavour of the dish.
- Star anise is a key spice in Chinese braises, it adds a mild liquorice-like sweetness that complements the pork.
- Cinnamon stick contributes a warm, slightly sweet aroma that deepens the flavour profile of the dish.
Cooking:
- Shaoxing wine enhances aroma and helps tenderise the meat, giving the dish a subtle depth and richness.
- Soy sauce Provides saltiness and umami.
- Dark soy sauce adds a darker colour and a deeper soy sauce flavour to the braise.
- Sugar (especially rock sugar) helps create the signature glossy, caramelized coating on the pork. It balances the salty soy sauce and enhances the dish’s depth.
- Rock sugar melts more slowly than normal sugar, allowing it to create a smoother and silkier sauce.
- Rock sugar has a more subtle and rounded sweetness compared to regular white sugar, which can taste sharper or overly sweet. This helps balance the dish’s salty and umami flavours without overpowering them.
- As rock sugar melts gradually during braising, it integrates better with the other sauces, leading to a more complex depth of flavour, while white sugar dissolves instantly, making the sweetness more one-dimensional.
- Water is needed for the braising process, allowing the pork to slowly cook until tender while developing a flavourful sauce.
- Scallions add an extra freshness to the dish as a garnish.
Steps
- Blanch the pork belly to remove impurities
- In a pot of warm water, add the whole pork belly, scallions, ginger slices, and cooking wine. Warm water is used to prevents sudden temperature shock which could tighten up the meat and make it tough.
- Heat over medium heat and wait for it to reach a gentle boil. Remove any impurities that rise to the surface. A slow boil ensures a more effective removal of impurities without overcooking the outer layers of the pork.
- Let it simmer for 5 minutes before removing the pork belly.
- Rinse thoroughly under warm water and rub the skin with your hands to remove any loosened dirt or impurities. Drain and pat dry.
- Once slightly cooled, cut the pork into cubes for braising. Cutting after blanching prevents excessive loss of juices and ensures a more tender texture.
- Stir-fry the pork belly
- Heat a wok over medium heat. No extra oil is needed as pork belly releases its own fat.
- Add the blanched pork belly cubes and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned and some fat is released.
- Remove the pork and set aside, leaving some pork oil in the wok for the next step. Using the pork fat to stir-fry the aromatics enhances their flavour without adding excess grease.
- Stir-fry the aromatics
- In the same wok with the remaining pork fat, add ginger slices, smashed garlic, star anise, and cinnamon stick.
- Stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add seasoning
- Return pork into the wok and stir-fry briefly.
- Pour in Shaoxing wine and let it sizzle to deglaze the pan and enhance aroma.
- Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar.
- Stir well to coat the pork in the seasoning.
- Braise the pork slowly
- Pour in warm water until it just covers the pork. Warm water helps maintain an even cooking temperature and prevents the meat from tightening up from sudden temperature change.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Adjust time based on your pork belly cut. The goal is to cook pork until it achieves a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. If the liquid reduces too quickly, add a bit more warm water to prevent burning.
- Reduce the sauce to a glossy glaze
- Uncover and increase heat to medium high. This allows the excess moisture to evaporate and thicken the sauce. Stir occasionally to coat the pork in the glaze.
- Once the sauce is reduced to the desired consistency (approximately 15 minutes), turn off the heat.
- Serve and enjoy
- Add chopped scallions for garnish for a fresh contrast.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
Red Braised Pork Belly
Equipment
- 1 Heavy-bottomed pot or wok
- 1 Wooden spoon or ladle
Ingredients
- 500 g pork belly
Pork Blanching
- 1 scallion tied into a knot
- ginger few slices
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
Spices
- 3 slices ginger
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 star anise
- 6 g cinnamon stick approx. 1 small stick
Cooking
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
- 0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 25 g rock sugar
- 1 cup warm water depend on size of your pot or wok
- scallions chopped, to taste for garnish
Instructions
- Place the whole pork belly, scallions, ginger and Shaoxing wine in a pot of warm water and cook over medium heat and wait for it to reach a gentle boil. Remove any impurities that rise to the surface and wait another 5 minutes.500 g pork belly, 1 scallion, ginger, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- Remove pork belly and rinse thoroughly under warm water. Rub skin with hands to remove any loosen dirt or hair. Drain and pat dry. Cut pork into cubes.500 g pork belly
- Stir-fry pork belly cubes with medium heat for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned with excess oil released. Remove pork and set aside while leaving some pork oil in the wok.500 g pork belly
- Depending on the amount of released pork oil, you can add a small amount of vegetable oil to the wok. Add ginger slices, smashed garlic, star anise and cinnamon stick and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.3 slices ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 2 star anise, 6 g cinnamon stick
- Return pork into the wok and stir-fry briefly. Pour in Shaoxing wine, letting it sizzle to deglaze the pan and enhance aroma. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar. stir well to coat the pork in the seasoning.500 g pork belly, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce, 0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce, 25 g rock sugar
- Pour in warm water to just cover the pork and bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.1 cup warm water
- Uncover and increase heat to medium high and thicken the sauce. Once the sauce is reduced to the desired consistency (approximately 15 minutes), turn off the heat.
- Add scallions for garnish and serve hot with steamed rice.scallions
