Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chinese Braised Pork Belly with Tea Brine (茶香南乳红烧肉)

Hi everyone, I'm Mandy. Welcome to souped up recipes. In China, the most loved pork dish has to be Hong Shao Rou, in which the pork belly is braised in a red sweet and savory sauce until melt in your mouth tender. Among the wide varieties of this dish all over China, there are many approaches to cooking it. The recipe that I'm sharing today is the Cantonese style. We like to season the pork with red fermented tofu to give the dish a distinctive flavor. I also creatively added black tea, which does an amazing job at reducing the greasy taste of the pork belly. Let's get started. I have got here a whole slab of skin on pork belly, about two pounds. Cut it into one and a half inch cubes. If you don't like pork belly because it is fatty, you can use short ribs. Hong Shao Pai Gu is also a popular dish in China. Add the pork belly to a big stock pot, which I filled with water. Then bring it to a boil over medium heat. This step is called blanching, a popular method to treat meat in Chinese cuisine. The purpose is to eliminate the foamy scum so you can get a clear glossy sauce at the end. Take the pork out and let it drain on the side completely. This is important for preventing the oil from splattering while stir-frying. Now we're going to put together all the seasonings. You will need three tablespoons of soy sauce, one tablespoon of oyster sauce, two pieces of red fermented bean curd, also known as fu ru in Chinese. For those of you who don't know about this ingredient, you will find a few different versions in the Asian market. The first one is the Sichuan style. It is preserved in hot chili oil. You can use it in this recipe if you like spicy food. The second one is Beijing style, which is extra stinky. I don't recommend using it because it really dominates the flavor and trust me, most people cannot tolerate it. Since this is a Cantonese recipe, I recommend using the which has the iconic red color. Mmm, this smells so good. Besides those two pieces of the tofu, we will also take about one tablespoon of the juice from the jar. Smash the fermented bean curd and mix well. Set the sauce aside. Heat the wok over medium heat and stir the pork for a few minutes or until you get about one to two tablespoons of fat. Please don't render too much oil, otherwise the lean layer of the pork belly will dry out and the texture will become stringy. Remove the pork from the wok, but leave the oil behind. If there is any residue sticks to the wok, please clean it, otherwise it will burn while caramelizing the sugar. Add six tablespoons of sugar and stir over low heat to caramelize. I know it looks like a lot of sugar, however it plays a key role in coloring the pork. Caramelizing the sugar is an important step. If you over caramelize it, it will bring a bitter taste. If you under caramelize it, the pork will taste too sweet. Pay attention to the moment when the sugar is bubbling. That is the cue to toss in the garlic, ginger, scallions, star anise, and cinnamon stick. Stir for 30 seconds. Please prepare all these aromatics beforehand, otherwise the sugar will burn while you rummage around. Add the pork belly back into the wok and mix well. Pour in a third cup of Chinese cooking wine from the side of the wok and stir to evaporate the alcohol. Pour in the sauce and continue to stir until well combined. Transfer everything into a clay pot. If you don't have a clay pot, use a stock pot or a dutch oven. Use two to three cups of water to rinse the wok and add it to the clay pot so you don't waste any flavor. The water amount depends on the evaporation because everybody's stove and cookware are different. Please come back once in a while to check the liquid level to make sure this pot is not boiled too dry. If you do end up needing to add more water, add hot water, don't add cold water. Arrange the pork belly cubes so the skin side is facing down. This helps the skin to get the desired red color. Turn the heat to low and simmer the pork belly for one and a half hour or until tender. 10 minutes before the pork is done, add two tea bags and continue to simmer over low heat for 10 more minutes. This is what I'm using but any brand will work. If you're using loose tea, please put it in a little cloth bag so it doesn't distribute everywhere. Okay, once the tea is well steeped into the broth, you can take the tea bags out and remove all the aromatics and spices so they don't annoy you while eating. Check the consistency of the sauce. If it is thin, turn the heat to high and constantly stir to reduce the sauce. Look how tender the pork is. It just broke apart because of the stirring. I have to be gentle here because I don't want to break the pork pieces and ruin the presentation. Please be aware that collagen-rich sauce like to bubble a lot while reducing so it makes it look like it has a lot of sauce left than it is. Please pay attention to the amount because you don't want to over reduce otherwise the pork becomes too dry or the flavor will be too powerful. Okay, it is done reducing. We're ready to serve. This looks amazing. I can't wait to give it a try. Oh, don't forget to drizzle some of the sauce. That is the best part. Wow, this is delicious. So good. If you have been following my show, you probably know that I can't say no to sweet, savory, succulent pork belly. It's so gelatinous and melts in your mouth tender. Then you'll be blown away by the flavor. Oh, by the way, the black tea is actually very subtle but it lightens the fatty feeling of the pork belly so you can keep eating without feeling stuffed. I hope you give this a try soon. Before you go, I have great news to share with you. My cookbook is finally ready for sale. You can click the link in the description and purchase this great Chinese cookbook. I carefully selected 168 recipes featuring popular takeout dishes, easy family meals, various regional specialties, and classic traditional delicacies. Each recipe comes with a demo video, step-by-step photos, clear techniques, and secret tips. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned chef, you'll be able to cook better than takeout and savor the local meals like the native Chinese. Thank you for watching and I'll see you next time. Bye!