Easy Braised Pork Belly | Chef John’s Cooking Class

Cut the pork belly into 1x1.5 in. cubes.

In a skillet over medium-low heat, add a couple of tablespoon cooking oil and pork belly, stir fry until golden. Cook slowly and stir often in order to release the fat. This takes about 8-10 minutes.

Then add 2 cups of ShaoXing cooking wine. The cooking wine will help remove the gamey taste of the meat and improve the chewy texture.

Then add seasonings; add rock sugar, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce, stir to mix evenly. Cover with a lid, turn the heat to low and braise for 25-30 minutes.

Then add another ½ cup of cooking wine, turn the heat up to high, thicken the sauce until there is just enough sauce to coat all meat pieces. The purpose of adding the cooking wine at two different times is to enrich the flavor and taste.

Enjoy!

Choose the pork belly with skin, and the meat is thicker. Beer can be the substitute for Shaoxing cooking wine if you can not find it. But the flavor will not be as rich. When stir fry over medium low heat, make sure until the meat is fragrant, cooked and releasing oil. When thickening at the end, pay attention to the heat; otherwise the meat may get burned.