Family Recipe 06 - Braised Pork Belly

Ingredients: Pork belly, ginger, rock sugar, soy sauce, rice wine, star anise Instructions: 1. Cut pork belly into bite-sized pieces (like mahjong tiles) and wash. 2. Heat oil in a pan, add rock sugar, melt over medium heat, then turn to low heat. When bubbles become fine, add pork belly and stir-fry until the sugar evenly coats the meat. 3. Add crushed ginger, rice wine, soy sauce, and 1-2 star anise. Stir-fry briefly. Add water to cover the meat, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 4. Optionally, add fried tofu puffs, fried tofu knots, or gluten rolls, cover, and simmer for another 30 minutes. (You can also add washed and chopped or sliced preserved plums to make preserved plum braised pork belly. Be sure to wash them thoroughly as they can be sandy.) 5. Turn up the heat to reduce the sauce until thickened. Serve. The photo shows preserved plum braised pork belly. The color is naturally darker due to the addition of preserved plums, but the flavor is excellent. There are many ways to make braised pork belly. Some recipes add preserved plums, others add shiso plums, some are sweeter, and I've even had spicy versions. So, I'm sharing my family's method.