Finished dish photo of Braised Pork Belly (Pressure Cooker Version)

Braised Pork Belly (Pressure Cooker Version)

Previously, I shared a braised pork belly recipe that requires 1.5 hours of slow cooking in a clay pot. If you're short on time, you can use this pressure cooker recipe to shorten the cooking time by an hour without sacrificing flavor. In fact, the dish will come out even softer and melt-in-your-mouth.

Time:More than 1 hour
Difficulty:A bit challenging

Ingredients

Pork belly1000g
Rock sugarAs needed
Cooking wine10 tablespoons
Garlic4-5 cloves
Ginger4 slices
Green onion1 stalk
Sichuan peppercorns10 pieces
Star anise1 piece
Fennel seedsApproximately 20 pieces
Cinnamon stickA very small piece
Bay leaves2 pieces
Dark soy sauce1/2 teaspoon
Light soy sauce2 tablespoons
WaterAs needed

Steps

1

Place pork belly into a pot of cold water. Once the water boils, remove it.

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2

Rinse the removed pork with hot water (important to use hot water) to clean off the surface impurities.

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3

Drain the water and set aside.

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4

Heat a pan with cold oil. Place the blanched pork belly in, cover the lid, and occasionally turn it until the pork is slightly golden. Be sure to wear gloves and goggles to avoid getting burned by splattering hot oil.

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5

Leave a thin layer of oil in the pan and heat on low with rock sugar.

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6

Once the sugar melts and starts bubbling, add the seared pork belly and stir to coat evenly.

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7

Add cooking wine, peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, green onion, ginger, garlic, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and 1-2 pieces of rock sugar.

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8

Transfer everything into a pressure cooker and add water until it’s level with the meat.

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9

Press the meat cooking function and wait 30 minutes.

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10

After 30 minutes, the meat will become tender, plumped, and floating on more oil and juices!

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11

Transfer to a frying pan to reduce the sauce. Adjust seasoning at this point, adding salt if it's bland or sugar if it's not sweet enough. I also added a few pieces of steamed potato to cook together. Feel free to customize!

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12

Once the sauce thickens, serve on a plate and enjoy!

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Cooking Tips

1. Be sure to protect yourself while searing the meat. If the meat is fatty, hot oil might splatter. Wear goggles and gloves for safety!