Red-Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Meltingly tender pork belly simmered in soy sauce, sugar and aromatics until glossy and caramelized. A beloved Chinese home classic. Hong shao rou turns up at family tables all over China, from a plain weeknight dinner to a Lunar New Year banquet, and every region argues about the right balance of soy to sugar. The deep red shine comes from the caramel — get that one step right and the rest is simply waiting.
Prep time15 min
Cook time75 min
Total time90 min
Servings4 servings
DifficultyMedium
Ingredients
- 600g pork belly, cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 3 slices ginger
- 3 spring onions, tied or cut
- 2 star anise
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- 1Put the pork in a pot of cold water, bring it to the boil and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain it, rinse the scum off under warm water and pat the pieces dry — dry meat browns, wet meat steams.
- 2Wipe the pot dry, add the sugar with 1 tablespoon of water, and set it over low heat. Swirl the pot rather than stirring as the sugar dissolves.
- 3When the sugar turns a deep amber and smells of caramel, after about 3-4 minutes, add the pork straight away and turn the pieces until every side is coated.
- 4Add the light soy, dark soy, wine, ginger, spring onions and star anise, then pour in the water — it should just cover the meat.
- 5Bring to the boil, then drop the heat to the lowest possible simmer. Cover and cook for about 1 hour, checking every 20 minutes that the liquid is not running dry.
- 6The pork is ready when a chopstick slides through the fat with almost no resistance at all.
- 7Uncover, raise the heat to medium-high and reduce for 5-8 minutes, spooning the sauce over the meat and turning the pieces gently, until it coats the back of a spoon.
- 8Serve with steamed rice, spooning the glossy sauce over the top, and put a simply blanched green vegetable on the table to cut through the richness.
Tips
- Watch the sugar closely — it goes from caramel to burnt very fast.
- The dark soy is mainly for colour; adjust the light soy for saltiness.
- The dish tastes even better reheated the next day.
- If the caramel seizes into a hard lump when the pork goes in, do not panic. Lower the heat, add a splash of hot water and keep turning the meat until it melts back into a sauce.
- For a lighter version, chill the leftovers and lift the solid fat off the top. The sauce keeps for 3 days in the fridge or a month in the freezer.
