Braised pork with fried tofu

Method

1. 01

   Step 1

   Wash the pork belly, cut it into pieces the size of mahjong tiles, put it in a pot of cold water and blanch it. You can add 2 slices of ginger and some cooking wine to the water when blanching to remove the fishy smell. Put it in a pot of cold water, bring it to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove it from the pot, rinse it clean and drain it.

   

2. 02

   Step 2

   Slice the ginger, cut the chili peppers into sections, and cut the white part of the scallions into sections. Prepare an appropriate amount of rock sugar and white sugar to caramelize later.

   

3. 03

   Step 3

   Heat oil in a pan over low heat, then add rock sugar and stir until melted.

   

4. 04

   Step 4

   After the rock sugar melts, add the granulated sugar and stir constantly until it is completely dissolved. The reason for using 2 types of sugar to caramelize the sugar is to achieve a better color and texture.

   

5. 05

   Step 5

   The sugar was caramelized like this, but it was a bit hot and I didn't take a good picture of it.

   

6. 06

   Step 6

   Pour the meat into the caramelized sugar and stir-fry quickly. A little oil will splatter out during this step, so be careful not to get splashed!

   

7. 07

   Step 7

   Once the pork belly is evenly coated with caramelized sugar, add the prepared star anise and scallion segments, and continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add a little dark soy sauce, salt, chicken bouillon, and thirteen-spice powder, stir a few more times, and then pour into a clay pot.

   

8. 08

   Step 8

   Pour the stir-fried meat into the casserole dish.

   

9. 09

   Step 9

   Add boiling water, enough to cover the meat.

   

10. 10

    Step 10

    Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes. Cooking in a clay pot makes things tender and easier to cook.

    

11. 11

    Step 11

    After 25 minutes, add the washed fried tofu puffs and continue to simmer over low heat.

    

12. 12

    Step 12

    Depending on the amount of water, when the water is almost boiled away, you can start reducing the sauce.

    

13. 13

    Step 13

    You can either transfer the meat from the casserole dish to the sauce and reduce it separately, or you can reduce it in the casserole dish. I prefer to do it in a wok. Pour the meat into the wok, make sure the heat is on high, and stir-fry constantly until the sauce is absorbed. Then remove from the wok and plate.

    

14. 14

    Step 14

    The sauce has reduced! The color is great, the meat is of good quality, and the fried tofu is delicious!