Braised Pork Belly with Tofu Knots [Cast Iron Pot Recipe - Easy to Make, No Cooking Skills Required]

Blanch 600 grams of pork belly in boiling water and then put it in a cast iron pot. I bought skinless pork belly directly. It's a matter of personal preference. You can buy pork belly with the skin on, as usual.

Grab a handful of rock sugar and throw it into the pot.

Add a handful of star anise and ginger slices.

Just a tiny bit of oil is enough. Actually, I don't usually add it. I was worried you'd all ask why I don't add it, so I'm just going with the flow. I only added a few drops of oil.

Throw everything in and stir. You don't need to caramelize the sugar in a cast iron pot. Just put all the ingredients in like this, stir a few times, and turn on the heat.

Put the lid on. Medium-low heat is just a tiny bit higher than low. If you can't adjust the heat, low is the safest bet. Then go do whatever you need to do. It's about the time it takes to wash two vegetables. I specifically checked today. I'll open the lid in 10 minutes.

The rock sugar in the pot has completely melted after opening the lid. Stir it gently with a spatula. It should look like the picture. There's no need to worry about burning the sugar or getting burned by splattering. It's safe and convenient. 🌟The key point is that I used a cast iron pot. You can follow my instructions to cover the pot and simmer the sugar. If you have other pots or stainless steel pots, you can't do this, or it will burn. For other pots, just stir-fry until the sugar melts, then follow the same steps afterwards.

The cast iron pot was very hot at this point. I didn't turn the heat up high; I kept it on medium-low. After the pork belly had browned, I poured in some Shaoxing wine (cooking wine or white wine are fine). The high temperature instantly evaporated a lot of moisture. The Shaoxing wine evaporated completely in just a few seconds.

Look. This is the state it's in.

Pour 6 tablespoons of light soy sauce into the pot.

Add a little more salt to the pot. Those who prefer a milder taste can skip this step and don't need to add salt. You can taste it before serving and add more salt or soy sauce if needed.

Adding light soy sauce, along with the rendered fat from the braising process and the caramelized sugar, will give the pork belly a very glossy red color. It's similar to adding dark soy sauce. My child's teeth are prone to staining, so I try to avoid adding dark soy sauce whenever possible.

Two cups of boiling water, each over 400ml. That's about 900ml of boiling water. Pour it into the pot to stew the meat. Actually, cold water works just as well. I used boiling water because I was in a hurry to eat lunch and wanted to save cooking time. Otherwise, I would have used cold water. It's not that cold water won't make the meat tender or anything like that.

Add more water if you prefer it more tender. Our family likes the meat to have a bit of chewiness. This amount of water is just right.

Next, add the tofu knots to the pot. The tofu knots I bought are super thin ones. They're ready-made, from the Douzhi brand. They're very durable and won't get too hot. The longer they cook, the more flavorful they become. That's why I always add them to the pot when stewing meat. If you buy thicker tofu knots, they're more likely to become mushy. You can add them after stewing the meat for 20 minutes.

After adding the tofu knots, cover the pot and start simmering. Simmer over low-medium heat for the first 25 minutes. Then, simmer over medium heat for the next 20 minutes to reduce the sauce. If you prefer it softer, add another 15-20 minutes of simmering time. My cast iron pot, with this capacity and at this heat, won't overflow. If your pot is smaller, be careful to prevent it from boiling over.

The stewed pork belly and tofu knots were ready in 45 minutes. The aroma was wonderful as soon as the lid was opened.

Come on, come on. Let me zoom in a bit to show you. I'll make you drool. Hurry up and make a pot of this and eat it!

The pork belly was cooked to our family's preferred doneness. Soft but not mushy. It had a nice chewy texture. So delicious! 😋 It was so good!

Come on, everyone, have some too. It's so good with rice.

I'm starting to eat!