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Clean recipe · cooking.nytimes.com

Hóng Shāo Ròu (Red-Braised Pork Belly)

This classic Shanghainese dish, adapted from “My Shanghai: Recipes and Stories from a City on the Water” by Betty Liu (Harper, 2021), features pork belly braised in light and dark soy sauces, Shaoxing wine and rock sugar until it’s deeply flavored, caramelized and glossy, a popular method called “red cooking.” There are endless variations of this dish throughout Shanghai: Some include hard-boiled eggs, tofu knots or salted yellow croaker fish. This one is gently seasoned with whole star anise and ginger. While the recipe suggests three hours’ braising, heed Ms. Liu’s advice: “The longer the better. My husband’s grandfather makes this dish as well, and he just lets it simmer over a small flame all day, filling the kitchen with the most tantalizing aroma.” Begin tasting the braising liquid at the 2-hour mark; if it’s too sweet or salty, add more soy sauce or rock sugar until the flavor makes you do a little dance.

Original recipe: cooking.nytimes.com

Yield:
4 servings
Prep:
0 hr 10 min
Cook:
3 hr 30 min
Total:
3 hr 40 min
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Ingredients

  1. 1 1⁄2 pounds wǔ huā ròu (boneless pork belly)
  2. 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, such as canola or grapeseed oil
  3. 4 tablespoons/60 grams rock sugar, (2 tablespoons finely crushed with a mortar and pestle, 2 tablespoons left whole); or 4 tablespoons granulated sugar (see Tip)
  4. 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce (see Tip)
  5. 1 cup chicken stock or water, plus more for braising
  6. 1⁄4 cup light soy sauce (see Tip)
  7. 1⁄4 cup Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  8. 3 whole star anise
  9. 2 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
  10. 4 scallions (3 cut into 2-inch segments and 1 chopped)
  11. 4 to 6 hard-boiled eggs (optional), peeled and slashed lengthwise 2 or 3 times
  12. 8 frozen tofu knots (optional)
  13. Cooked white rice, for serving

Instructions

  1. Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil over high in a large pot, and add the pork belly. Add more water to cover the pork, if necessary, then boil for 3 minutes. (This step removes impurities from the pork.) Drain and set the pork aside. When cool enough to handle, cut the pork into 1 1⁄2-inch cubes and pat dry with a paper towel.