Red-Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)

Red-Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Red-Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Red-braised pork may be one of the most common of all Chinese dishes, but it is also one of the most glorious, a slow stew of belly pork with seasonings that may include sugar, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and spices. Every region seems to have its own version: this is my favorite, based on recipes I've gathered in eastern China. If my experience is anything to go by, you won't have any leftovers. My guests tend to finish every last morsel and usually end up scraping the pot. If your guests are more restrained, leftover red-braised pork keeps very well for a few days in the refrigerator and a good spoonful makes a wonderful topping for a bowl of noodles. I don't recommend freezing it, however, as this ruins the delicate texture of the fat. This recipe will serve four to six as part of a Chinese meal. To make it go further, add more stock or water and a vegetarian ingredient that will soak up the sauce most deliciously. Puffy, deep-fried tofu is a fine addition to red-braised pork, as are hard-boiled eggs, dried tofu "bamboo" and the little knotted strips of dried tofu skin that can be found in some Chinese supermarkets (the latter two should first be soaked in hot water until supple). In rural households in China, they often add dried vegetables such as string beans and bamboo shoots, which should also be pre-soaked. You can also use root vegetables such as potato, taro or carrot, or peeled water chestnuts: just make sure you cook the vegetables with the pork for long enough to absorb its flavors, and adjust the seasoning as necessary. To reduce the amount of oil in the final dish, make it in advance and refrigerate overnight. Then scrape off the layer of fat on the surface and keep it in the refrigerator to add to your stir-fried mushrooms or other vegetables. If you prefer a less fatty cut, pork ribs or shoulder are also magnificent red-braised. And you can, if you like, cook the pork slowly in an oven instead of on the burner—not very Chinese, but often more convenient (for this, preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2).
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Asian Chinese Wok Pork Braise Stir-Fry Dinner Lunar New Year Meat
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • salt, to taste
  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • 1 1/4 lb (500g) boneless pork belly, with skin, or shoulder
  • 4 slices of unpeeled ginger
  • 1 spring onion, white part only, crushed slightly
  • 2 cups plus 2 tbsp (500ml) chicken stock or water, plus more if needed
  • 1 star anise
  • small piece of cassia bark or cinnamon stick
  • dash of dark soy sauce
  • a few lengths of spring onion greens, to garnish
  • Carbohydrate 6 g(2%)
  • Cholesterol 36 mg(12%)
  • Fat 28 g(44%)
  • Fiber 0 g(1%)
  • Protein 7 g(13%)
  • Saturated Fat 10 g(48%)
  • Sodium 323 mg(13%)
  • Calories 307

Preparation Cut the pork into 3/4-1 in (2-3cm) chunks. Pour the oil into a seasoned wok over a high flame, followed by the ginger and spring onion and stir-fry until you can smell their aromas. Add the pork and stir-fry for a couple of minutes more. Splash in the Shaoxing wine. Add the stock, spices, soy sauce, sugar and 1 tsp salt. Mix well, then transfer to a clay pot or a saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over a very low flame for at least 1 1/2 hours, preferably two or three. Keep an eye on the pot to make sure it does not boil dry; add a little more stock or hot water if necessary. Adjust the seasoning and add the spring onion greens just before serving. Reprinted from Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop. Copyright © 2012 by Fuchsia Dunlop. Photographs copyright © 2012 by Chris Terry. With the permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company.

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