Braised Pork in Soy Sauce, a delicacy that meat lovers shouldn't miss. There are some differences in the preparation of Braised Pork in Soy Sauce across different regions. Let's take a look at how it's made all over the country.
Shanghai — Dried Bamboo Shoot Braised Pork
Dried Bamboo Shoot Braised Pork
Dried bamboo shoot braised pork is a delicious homestyle dish. This dish features fragrant dried bamboo shoots, soft and tender meat, a soy sauce-red color, a fresh and savory flavor, and a long-lasting aftertaste, making it an excellent accompaniment to wine.
Dried bamboo shoots are a delicious food rich in nutritional value and medicinal properties. They are tender, fresh, crisp, and refreshing, containing protein and various amino acids, vitamins, as well as trace elements like calcium, phosphorus, iron, and abundant dietary fiber. They can promote intestinal peristalsis, aiding digestion and preventing constipation and colon cancer.
Ingredients: Pork belly, dried bamboo shoots, dark soy sauce, beer, five-spice powder, rock sugar, garlic, star anise, boiling water.
Method:
1. Clean the dried bamboo shoots, place them in a pot with an appropriate amount of water (about 2 cm above them), bring to a boil over high heat, then turn off the heat and let it cool. Then, soak in cold water for 2 hours, changing the water once. Wash the pork belly, cut it into 1 cm cubes, and pat the surface dry with a paper towel.
2. Heat oil in a wok until it's 70% hot. Add the pork belly and pan-fry until both sides are slightly golden brown, then remove.
3. Pour out the oil used for frying the pork. Add boiling water to the pot, then add the pork, dark soy sauce, beer, five-spice powder, rock sugar, garlic, and star anise. Bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Add the soaked dried bamboo shoots, season with salt, stir well, and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes before serving.
Characteristics: This version of Braised Pork in Soy Sauce uses dried bamboo shoots from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, which fully absorb the rich and mellow aroma of the pork while reducing the greasiness. It's a perfect combination, truly a dish with great "style"!
Hunan — Mao's Braised Pork
Mao's Braised Pork
Mao's Braised Pork is a Hunan dish and one of the common homestyle dishes. It is made with semi-lean, semi-fatty pork, cut into uniform pieces, and then braised with high-quality soy sauce and a small amount of sugar. The color is golden, and the flavor is sweet but not greasy. Mao Zedong was fond of this dish, and Mao Family restaurants across the country use it as their signature dish, hence the name "Mao's Braised Pork."
Ingredients: 300g pork belly, 4 dried chili peppers, 2g cinnamon, 2g star anise, 1 whole garlic head, 800ml broth, lard, 2 tbsp cooking wine, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, 15g sugar, salt, chicken powder.
Method:
1. Wash the pork belly, place it in cold water, bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, and cook for another 2 minutes before turning off the heat.
2. Scrape the skin of the pork belly clean and cut it into 2.5cm cubes.
3. Slice the garlic and cut the dried chili peppers into sections.
4. Heat a pot, add a small amount of oil, and sauté the garlic slices, dried chili peppers, cinnamon, and star anise over low heat until fragrant.
5. Add the pork cubes and stir-fry until the color changes, then remove.
6. Heat another pot with a small amount of oil, add sugar, and melt over low heat.
7. Quickly add the stir-fried pork cubes and toss evenly to coat with color.
8. Add cooking wine and light soy sauce, season with salt, pour in the broth, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer slowly for about 1 hour.
9. Before turning off the heat, add honey and chicken powder.
Characteristics: The biggest feature of Mao's Braised Pork is that it doesn't use soy sauce for coloring; the tempting color of the meat comes entirely from the caramelized sugar. This adds a touch of fresh sweetness to the rich meaty flavor, truly "excellent"!
Zhejiang — Dongpo Pork
Dongpo Pork
Legend has it that it was created by the Northern Song poet Su Dongpo (from Meishan, Sichuan). The earliest origin of Dongpo Pork is Huanggang, Hubei. In 1080, Su Dongpo was exiled to Huanggang. Because pork was abundant and cheap there, he came up with this way of cooking it. Su Dongpo once wrote a poem "Eating Pork" which says: "Use a slow fire, add a little water, and when the cooking time is sufficient, it will be delicious on its own. Every morning, I'll have a bowl, and I'll be full, so don't worry about me."
Ingredients: 1500g pork belly, 100g green onions, 100g sugar, 250g Shaoxing wine, 50g ginger (lightly smashed), 150g soy sauce.
Method:
1. Scrape and wash the pork belly, cut it into 10 square pieces, and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes, then remove and rinse clean.
2. Take a large clay pot, place a bamboo mat at the bottom, first lay a bed of green onions, add the ginger, then arrange the pork pieces neatly with the skin side down. Add sugar, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine, finally add a green onion knot. Cover the pot, seal the edges with peach paper, place over high heat, bring to a boil, then cover and seal. Simmer over low heat until the pork is tender. Remove the pot from the heat, skim off the oil. Turn the pork pieces over so the skin side is up and place them in special small clay pots. Cover and steam in a steamer over high heat for 30 minutes until the pork is tender and done.
Characteristics: As the "largest member" of the braised pork family, Dongpo Pork looks absolutely round, plump, and tempting. Combined with the meticulous, slow-cooking method characteristic of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang cuisine, "Dongpo Pork" is truly rich but not greasy, with a meaty aroma that fills the air. In Hangzhou dialect, it's truly "top-notch"!
Just the thought of braised pork is enough to make your mouth water. How is the braised pork in your hometown made?
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