Got to experiment using a cut of meat I've never used before - pork belly. NOT BACON. Whole pork belly, skin on (bones out). As a note, this is a *really* rich dish and you should be good to go with five or six bites of the meat, so this serves about 6. Round out dinner with rice and steamed bok choy or other vegetable.
Mats:
2lbs pork belly
1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
6 Tbsp (white wine/shaoxing wine)
6 tsp light soy sauce
4 tsp dark soy sauce
1c water
1 bunch green onions, trimmed.
3 cloves garlic
3 inches ginger root, peeled cut into large chunks
2 star anise
1/2c brown sugar
How-to
Cut the pork belly into long strips, about 3/4inch wide. Put them all into a big pot and fill the pot with water. Bring the water to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. You may see all sorts of scum rise to the top - that's good. That's why we're boiling it.
Drain the pot into a colander and rinse the pork strips under cool water to get all the gunk off.
Cut the long strips into little strips about 3/4 inch thick, so you have a cross-section of the belly. Pat dry.
Meanwhile, heat the oil and sugar in large pan on medium heat so the sugar starts to melt.
Toss the pork strips into the hot oil and sugar mixture. Stir around until the pork starts to brown a little.
Add the wine, soy sauces, and water. The liquid level should be about even with the pile of pork.
Add the garlic, ginger chunks, and star anise. These should be under the liquid level.
Set 2 green onions aside, then lay the rest of the bunch on top of the pork. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, then stir and add 1c water to keep the liquid level high. If it's making loud pops, the heat's too high. You want a gentle bubble. When you stir it, scrape the bottom to keep the sugars from burning.
Cover and simmer for another 45 minute (1.5 hours cook time so far), then stir and add 1c water.
Keep covered and simmer for another 45 minutes (2hr, 15 min cook time)
Stir and add 1c water. Sprinkle the 1/2c brown sugar on top, cover and cook for 15min (2hr, 30 min cook time total)
Serve over rice and with a vegetable to round out the dish.
Step-by-step album from /u/PinGuy. I really should take some pictures of my own some day.
