How to make braised pork

White meat is a common type of meat. In fact, it is mainly the oily part of pork, which tastes smooth and tender. Of course, for some people, white meat is still too greasy and they may not like to eat it. However, white meat is rich in nutrients and has certain benefits to the human body. There are many ways to eat white meat. A good cooking method will maximize the nutritional value of the food. Braised white meat is one of them. Next, let us learn how to make braised pork!

Ingredients: pork with skin, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, bay leaves, small dried chili peppers, rock sugar

1. Method:

1. Wash the pork and cut into large cubes.

2. Chop the onion and garlic, halve the red pepper, and slice the ginger.

3. Take a deep pot, place the meat with the skin facing down, and stir-fry over medium heat until the skin turns golden brown. Then stir-fry until the meat is slightly browned on all sides and take it out.

4. After the pork is served, sauté shallots, garlic, ginger, red pepper, star anise and other condiments in the pan. After a brief stir-fry, add rock sugar, turn to low heat and stir-fry gently until the rock sugar turns amber.

5. Pour rice wine into the pot from the side and mix it with the spices and caramel in the pot.

6. Add the fried meat back into the pot and stir-fry until it is caramelized. Add soy sauce and water in a 1:1 ratio into the pot until the pork belly is covered.

7. Simmer on low heat for one hour. Simmer for a few more minutes and it’s ready to serve.

(II) Tips for making braised meat:

1. You can also add an appropriate amount of MSG during the preparation process. It should be noted that adding MSG to the brine will not have any side effects, because MSG will produce sodium pyroglutamate and lose its flavor only at temperatures above 160°C, and the boiling temperature of the brine generally does not exceed 105°C.

2. Tender sugar color should generally be added to the marinade to make it have a sweet aftertaste. After adding the tender caramel color, you no longer need to add licorice. But from the perspective of medicinal properties, licorice has the function of harmonizing flavors and enhancing freshness. Therefore, after adding sugar color, you can still consider adding a little licorice to the marinade.

3. Method of frying sugar color: It must be fried slowly over low heat, and the sugar color should be slightly tender, otherwise the fried sugar color will taste bitter.

4. Cloves contain eugenol, which has a strong smell. The dosage can be adjusted according to the specific situation when using it. Generally speaking, the amount of cloves in 5000 grams of fresh soup should be controlled between 5 and 15 grams.

5. The roots of green onions used to make brine should be retained, as this will make the brine taste more fragrant. This is the experience passed down to me by a master craftsman who has been making brine for many years.

6. The above-mentioned brine recipe contains sugar color, and the color is brown-red, which is called red brine. If the sugar color in the recipe is removed, it becomes white brine. In addition, some people like to add dried chili peppers to the marinade, which makes it a spicy marinade.