Chinese Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou)

4.93 from 14 votes

Chinese Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou or red braised pork) is tender and juicy with a thick and sticky sauce that's sweet and savory!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 35

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: people

Calories: 639kcal

Place the pork belly in a boiling pot of water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and rinse well to remove impurities.
Heat the sugar in a large pot or wok over medium-low heat until it starts to melt.
Turn the heat to medium and add the pork belly.
Brown in the sugar on all sides, being careful not to burn it. (If it starts to burn, turn the heat down and add the Shaoxing wine).
Add the Shaoxing wine, soy sauces, ginger and anise to the pot with the 2 cups of water (enough to cover the pork belly).
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 hour, checking periodically to ensure it doesn't burn.
Uncover and continue to simmer until all liquid is absorbed and pork belly is tender.
Garnish with green onions and serve over rice.

For even cooking, make sure you cut the pork belly into roughly the same size pieces (about 2-inches).
If you cut the pork belly into larger pieces, it will take longer to cook and get tender.
I don’t recommend skipping the step of blanching the pork belly pieces for a few minutes. This helps get rid of any impurities.
When browning the pork in the melted sugar, make sure the sugar doesn’t start to burn. If it does, turn down the heat and add the wine.
Similarly, as the pork belly simmers for an hour, you’ll want to check on it occasionally to ensure it isn’t burning.
For maximum flavor, make sure the pork belly is well coated in the braising liquid as it starts to cook. To ensure this, you need to add enough water to cover the pork.
To ensure the braising liquid thickens into a sauce you’ll need to uncover the pork and let it simmer until the braising liquid is reduced.
You can double the recipe, but you’ll need to make sure you have a large enough pot or wok to brown the pork belly without overcrowding it. Or, brown it in two batches.