I debated posting this recipe for two reasons - one, in our little burg it's difficult to find some ingredients and I end up ordering over the internet (don't know how many like to do that) and second, 
Sharon is in the middle of her move and she's going to be so annoyed knowing she can't make this right now. But, what the heck.
This dish is so good, we were almost licking the bowls!! I took it to our friends to share (half of it anyway) because he had had this dish at some time in his life and he was the one who found the recipe for me to try. I have another half here at home for tomorrow's dinner. If you have been wanting to play with a pork belly, you'd have to go far to find a better dish than this one.
Hong Shao Rou
(Red-Cook Pork) Serves 4-6
Red-cooked dishes are typical of the cuisine of Shanghai.
5 lbs. lean pork belly with skin, cut into 1 1/2” cubes
24.5 oz. bottle shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
2” piece ginger, lightly crushed
1 – 1 1/2 cups Japanese soy saue
2 large pieces rock sugar*
2 T. Chinese dark soy sauce**
Put the pork in a medium heavy-bottomed pot and cover with cold water by 1”. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until most of the foam has stopped rising to the surface, about 5 minutes. Drain meat in a colander and rinse well under cold water.
Clean pot, then add pork, shaoxing, ginger, and just enough cold water to cover, about 3 cups. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until meat begins to get tender, about 40 minutes. (Some of the liquid will have evaporated.) Add enough Japanese soy sauce to just cover the meat, and continue simmering, stirring often, until meat is tender when pierced with a chopstick, about 20 minutes.
Add rock sugar and dark soy sauce and gently stir, without breaking up pieces of meat, until sugar dissolves. Continue simmering 5 minutes more. The finished sauce should be glossy ad silky like a glaze.
Serve with white rice or garlic noodles – see recipe below.
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*the rock sugar – I ordered it from Teavana.com – when I rec’d it, the grains (or pieces were pretty small, so I called the company/source who was referenced in the recipe and they said their rock sugar came in the size of a woman’s fist – much, much bigger than what I had, so I used 1/2 cup of my sugar and it worked great.
**I didn’t have dark soy sauce (which is a little thicker and sweeter than regular) so I used Kecap Manis, sweet soy sauce – worked fine.
Da-Suan Chao Mian
Garlic Noodles
Do not rinse the chao mian noodles after you cook them the starch on the surface helps them ‘grab’ the garlic flavor.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 lb. fresh chao mian-style wheat noodles*** and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes.
Meanwhile heat 3 T. peanut oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 6-8 minced peeled garlic cloves and stir-fry until fragrant and soft, about 30 seconds.
Drain the noodles, then immediately add to wok. Add 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce and 1 tsp. oyster sauce and season with a little salt. Toss noodles in wok until mixed well and hot but not fried, 1 – 1 1/2 minutes. Serves 2-4
***Again, I didn’t have the right noodles, so used cappellini and cooked for the 2 min.
Oh my, this is the tastiest dish I’ve made in a long time!! (Sorry Sharon
)
Sharon is in the middle of her move and she's going to be so annoyed knowing she can't make this right now. But, what the heck.This dish is so good, we were almost licking the bowls!! I took it to our friends to share (half of it anyway) because he had had this dish at some time in his life and he was the one who found the recipe for me to try. I have another half here at home for tomorrow's dinner. If you have been wanting to play with a pork belly, you'd have to go far to find a better dish than this one.
Hong Shao Rou
(Red-Cook Pork) Serves 4-6
Red-cooked dishes are typical of the cuisine of Shanghai.
5 lbs. lean pork belly with skin, cut into 1 1/2” cubes
24.5 oz. bottle shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
2” piece ginger, lightly crushed
1 – 1 1/2 cups Japanese soy saue
2 large pieces rock sugar*
2 T. Chinese dark soy sauce**
Put the pork in a medium heavy-bottomed pot and cover with cold water by 1”. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until most of the foam has stopped rising to the surface, about 5 minutes. Drain meat in a colander and rinse well under cold water.
Clean pot, then add pork, shaoxing, ginger, and just enough cold water to cover, about 3 cups. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until meat begins to get tender, about 40 minutes. (Some of the liquid will have evaporated.) Add enough Japanese soy sauce to just cover the meat, and continue simmering, stirring often, until meat is tender when pierced with a chopstick, about 20 minutes.
Add rock sugar and dark soy sauce and gently stir, without breaking up pieces of meat, until sugar dissolves. Continue simmering 5 minutes more. The finished sauce should be glossy ad silky like a glaze.
Serve with white rice or garlic noodles – see recipe below.
-------
*the rock sugar – I ordered it from Teavana.com – when I rec’d it, the grains (or pieces were pretty small, so I called the company/source who was referenced in the recipe and they said their rock sugar came in the size of a woman’s fist – much, much bigger than what I had, so I used 1/2 cup of my sugar and it worked great.
**I didn’t have dark soy sauce (which is a little thicker and sweeter than regular) so I used Kecap Manis, sweet soy sauce – worked fine.
Da-Suan Chao Mian
Garlic Noodles
Do not rinse the chao mian noodles after you cook them the starch on the surface helps them ‘grab’ the garlic flavor.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 lb. fresh chao mian-style wheat noodles*** and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes.
Meanwhile heat 3 T. peanut oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 6-8 minced peeled garlic cloves and stir-fry until fragrant and soft, about 30 seconds.
Drain the noodles, then immediately add to wok. Add 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce and 1 tsp. oyster sauce and season with a little salt. Toss noodles in wok until mixed well and hot but not fried, 1 – 1 1/2 minutes. Serves 2-4
***Again, I didn’t have the right noodles, so used cappellini and cooked for the 2 min.
Oh my, this is the tastiest dish I’ve made in a long time!! (Sorry Sharon
)
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
www.achefsjourney.com
