Soy Braised Pork Belly (Home Made Style) 红烧肉

Hey, I'm Lionel, a Chinese home chef. I don't have an intro for this video, so let's cook. Okay, first, we need to make caramelized sugar. Heat up 2 tablespoons of high smoke point oil in a wok over medium heat. Then add 5 tablespoons of sugar. Stir until it melts, then crank up the heat to high. Keep stirring until you see lots of dense, frothy bubbles. Immediately turn off the heat and add a half cup of boiling water. Important to use boiling hot water. Otherwise, look what just happened to me. Anyway, after that, just let it reduce for a minute until it becomes a dark, soy color. Turn off the heat and pour into a jar. You can store this for later. Now, introduce the pork belly. I'll cut the slab in half because I want to use a small part. With room temperature water, add the pork along with a few slices of ginger, 1 green onion, and 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine. Bring it to a boil, skim off the foam, and let it cook for about 15 minutes. While that cooks, prepare the spices. 2 star anise, 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 dried chilies, and some Sichuan red peppercorns. And lastly, some freshly sliced ginger in a small bowl. If you don't want to buy all the spices, go to buy 5 spice powder. Now, our pork should be ready. Pierce the meat with a chopstick. If it slides through easily, it's cooked. Get it out and give the pork a shower, let it cool, and tap it dry with some paper towel. Then cut into 1-inch cubes like these and set aside. Heat the wok again, add the pork belly cubes, and dry fry for 3-4 minutes over medium heat to drive out moisture so it won't splatter. You can add a touch of oil to speed it up, but I prefer to let it render its own fat. Until the edges turn golden, push the meat aside. Add the spices and stir fry for 15 seconds until fragrant. Add 3 tablespoons of caramelized sugar. Toss and coat the pork belly until glossy red. Then add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and toss again. Pour in a can of beer or just water, but beer gives it a deeper flavor. Season with 2 pinches of salt, white pepper, and green onion. Cover and braise for 40 minutes to an hour. Remember to check it halfway through and flip the pieces so they cook evenly. When the braising is done, pick out all the spices and the green onion. Turn off the heat and transfer to a big bowl. Finally, garnish with some fresh green onion. Ta-da! I assume you'll like this video if you're still here. So a like or subscribe would mean so much for a small creator like me. I'll leave this video that contains 5 pork belly recipes on the screen so check it out.