Ingredients
- Main Ingredient: 500–1000g skin-on pork belly (layered fat and lean meat)
- Basic Aromatics: 2 star anise, 1 small piece of cinnamon bark, 2 bay leaves, scallions, and ginger
- Seasonings: Rock sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, and a small amount of salt
Key Pre-processing Steps
- Remove Hair & Odor: Sear the skin side down in a hot pan until slightly charred; soak to soften, then scrape off surface impurities to significantly reduce gamey odors.
- Blanching: Place meat chunks in a pot with cold water, add scallions, ginger, and cooking wine; bring to a boil, skim off the scum, and remove the meat.
- Washing Tip: Rinse the meat with warm water; **never** rinse hot meat with cold water, as the sudden temperature drop causes the meat fibers to contract and become tough.
Core Cooking Steps
- Caramelize Sugar: Add a little oil to a cold pan, melt the rock sugar over low heat, and stir-fry until it turns a date-red color and bubbles finely; immediately add the meat and stir-fry to coat every piece evenly.
- Render Fat: Continue stir-frying over medium-low heat to render out excess fat; drain off some of the rendered fat so the final dish tastes cleaner and less greasy.
- Braise: Pour in hot water to completely submerge the meat, add the aromatics, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to the lowest heat and simmer slowly for 40–60 minutes.
- Season & Reduce Sauce: Once the meat is tender, add salt to taste; turn up the heat to reduce the liquid until the sauce thickens and coats the meat completely.
