[Quick Recipe] Not Greasy Braised Pork Belly - Homestyle

1. Cut the spring onion into sections and slice the ginger. 2. Place bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, and star anise into a piece of gauze and tie into a spice bag with a string.

Rock sugar: 3-4 large chunks. Braised pork without sugar has no soul.

1. [Soak] Cut the pork belly into chunks and soak in cold water (I usually soak it overnight to remove the blood and eliminate odor. In summer, don't soak overnight due to high indoor temperatures, as it may spoil). 2. [Boil] Put the raw pork into boiling water. Once the water starts bubbling and foam appears, skim it off with a spoon. Then remove the pork (soaking longer before boiling reduces the amount of foam). Discard the water as it contains too many impurities.

Heat a wok. Once hot, add oil. You can use medium or high heat at this point.

When small bubbles appear in the oil, it's hot enough. Add rock sugar (if the chunks are too big, use a spatula to break them apart). Once the sugar dissolves into smaller granules, lower the heat to medium-low and continue melting. {Be gentle during this process to avoid oil splatters.}

The rock sugar turns into caramel syrup.

Add the boiled pork belly to the wok. Make sure the pork is drained; otherwise, it will splatter!!! Quickly stir-fry to coat each piece evenly with the caramel (if there's no splattering, you can turn the heat to medium or high).

Add two tablespoons of yellow rice wine (or cooking wine) and stir-fry a few times.

Add two tablespoons of dark soy sauce and two tablespoons of light soy sauce (or three tablespoons if only regular soy sauce is available). Stir-fry again to coat evenly.

Add spring onion and ginger. Keep stir-frying.

In a separate pot, boil water (enough to just cover the pork; not too much).

Once the water is boiling, add everything from the wok (pork, spring onion, ginger, and sauce) to the pot. Then add the spice bag.

Bring it to a boil, then add a tablespoon of vinegar. Reduce to a low flame, cover with a lid, and simmer.

1. After about [40 minutes], add pre-boiled eggs (peel the eggs before adding). 2. Add [salt]; for this pot, I used 7 teaspoons for 2 pounds of meat and 8 eggs (spoon size as shown). 3. Tasted the broth and found it not sweet enough, so I added a large chunk of rock sugar and a tablespoon of vinegar, stirring well. 4. After adding the eggs, turn up the heat to boil, then immediately reduce to low heat and continue simmering. 5. [40 minutes later], it's done ✅

Turn off the heat, and it’s ready to eat! (Forgot to take a separate photo. I was too excited to start eating and remembered later, so here's a quick one...)