Braised Pork Belly
Not too long ago, Christine from Christine’s Recipes sent me a copy of her cookbook – “Easy Recipes－A Selection of Simple Classics (簡易食譜──精選．易學．經典)”. I was really excited when I got her cookbook and couldn’t wait to flip through the book and check out all the recipes. I have been following Christine’s blog for quite a while now and I love all the recipes that she has been sharing.
“Easy Recipes－A Selection of Simple Classics” contains a selection of over 60 classic and delicious recipes, including breakfast, tea, main, soup and dessert. Each recipe is very well-written in both Chinese and English. Besides, it is also accompanied with step-by-step instructions followed with pictures side by side. And of course, there are photos that show the final look of the dishes too. Christine has taken all of the photos in her book, which I believe is a big task and she has done a great job!
Personally, I love classic dishes and I think this book has all those yummy and most-loved classic dishes that everyone loves and it is a great keeper in my cookbook collections. You can get a copy of Christine’s book here.
There are so many recipes that I wanted to try and couldn’t make up my mind. In the end, I decided to make braised pork belly. One-pot dish like this always appeal to me, especially so when living in a country where we tend to have more cold than warm days throughout the year!
It is very important to get a nice piece of pork belly. Usually I like to get those with less fat so that I can enjoy more of the meat. The end result of the dish was just unbelievable – the meat just melt in the mouth and the intense glistering colour of soy and sugar makes the dish looks really appetising! It goes well with plain steamed rice since the dish is infused with great flavours of spring onion, Shaoxing wine and garlic! My husband and I had 2 portions of rice and managed to finish the whole dish! Yes, it was really that yummy!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 3 persons
Ingredients:
470g pork rashers/pork belly
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 stalks spring onion, sectioned
2 tsp Shaoxing wine
18g rock sugar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 cup water
3 hard boiled eggs, shelled
Method:
1. Cut the pork into cubes of 1 to 1 1/2 inch size.
2. Heat a little oil in a pan or deep pot, as the pork will release some oil. Fry the pork until light brown. Add garlic in the middle and cook until aromatic. Add wine, light and dark soy sauce, water and rock sugar. Bring it to a boil.
3. When the sauce boils, add the spring onion, cover and simmer until the pork softens and the sauce reduces by half. Add the eggs and continue to simmer until they turn brown. If you like a smoother and clearer sauce, sift the garlic and spring onion away through a fine sieve. Serve hot.
