Caroline's Cooking

Chinese sticky braised pork belly

This classic Chinese pork belly, hong shao rou, is wonderfully tender, sticky and flavorful. It takes a little patience, but it's easy, hands-off cooking and so worth the wait.

Let’s get started!

Gather your ingredients

01

This doesn't need many ingredients. Some of them might be less familiar, but you can usually find them at your local Asian supermarket. 

Blanch the pork

02

Blanching the pork helps to get rid of any impurities. It's as simple as cooking it in boiling water for a few minutes.

Make caramel and coat pork in it

03

You simply melt sugar in oil to make the caramel, then add the pork to give it a lovely sticky, pale brown coating.

Add seasonings and water

04

A combination of soy, Shaoxing wine and aromatics add flavor as the pork slowly cooks in the braising liquid.

Reduce remaining sauce to a syrup

05

After a slow cook, remove the lid to let the remaining sauce reduce down to leave a delicious sticky coating.

Perfect served with rice and maybe some steamed greens as a main, or else alongside other dishes as part of a larger feast!

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