Hello Everyone.
I’ve been missing-in-action for a couple of months now. Those that follow me on twitter will know that Pizzaboy and I have finally bought a home. It was the right size, in the right suburb, in the right location and at the right price. This is the first time both of us have moved away from home and so far it’s been fun. We are both so happy and we can’t help but be playful whilst unpacking.
I am also delighted that the kitchen is flooded with sunlight from dawn to dusk. This will make photography and blogging so much more easier and pleasant. I’ve been stocking my pantry full of all the things that I love and marking recipes in cookbooks that I want to try. One of these recipes is Chairman Mao’s Red Braised Pork Belly.
I doubled the recipe because Pizzaboy and I are greedy foxes that either eat more than we should or appreciate leftovers the next day.
Chairman Mao’s Red Braised Pork Belly
Recipe adapted from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop
500g pork belly
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
20g fresh ginger, skin on and sliced
1 star anise
2 dried red chillies
a small piece of cassia bark or a cinnamon stick
5 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
spring onions
1/ Place the pork belly into boiling water for 4-5 minutes. The pork belly should only be partially cooked. Wait until it is cool enough to handle and then cut them into bite-sized pieces.
2/ On low, heat the peanut oil in a wok and add 2 tablespoons of the white sugar. When the sugar melts turn up the heat and stir it until it turns into a dark caramel brown.
3/ Carefully add the pork belly and the shaoxing wine. Stir.
4/ Add enough hot water to just cover the pork belly
5/ Add the ginger, star anise, red chillies, cassia bark and black peppercorns. Bring it to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer with the lid on for 1 hour.
6/ Take the lid off and turn up the heat to reduce the sauce. Add the soy sauce, salt and 1 teaspoon of white sugar.
Serve with a sprinkling of chopped spring onions.
Tips from cookbookmaniac.com
* Be very careful when adding the pork belly to the hot caramel mixture. The caramel spat like a mad dragon, had I not had the camera in my face I would have been burned.
* Pizzaboy and I enjoyed this recipe, but we felt it was missing a little something. I think this might need a little more tweeking.
Another pork recipe from cookbookmaniac.com: Mini Vietnamese Pork Rolls
Banh Mi Thit – Vietnamese Pork Rolls – Miniature version
Comments
john@heneedsfood
November 18, 2010 at 9:23 amLooks delicious! Funny, I just did a post on a similar pork dish as well. Congrats on the new purchase!
chocolatesuze
November 18, 2010 at 9:59 amive missed your posts! but congrats on the new place dudes hehe housewarming partay!
angie
November 18, 2010 at 11:04 amYay! Congrats on the new place! Mmm nomm can I come over for some pork belly please? 😉
elpi
November 18, 2010 at 12:39 pmNice one, congrats!! such a great recipe. You make me hungry
tigerfish
November 18, 2010 at 3:54 pmCongrats on your new home. And a kitchen flooded with sunlight….I am so envious. New home and nice kitchen sure makes the braised pork belly extra delicious.
Angie’s Recipes
November 19, 2010 at 12:28 amI love all kinds of red braised pork belly! This one looks great too.
GourmetGetaways
November 19, 2010 at 6:55 amCongratulations on your new place.
I love the sound of this dish, I made something similiar in the Cookbook Challenge” Chinese week and it was amazing, I still salivate thinking about it!
anh
November 19, 2010 at 4:30 pmhey congrats on the new plce 🙂 you are back! wohoo!
Vivienne
November 19, 2010 at 11:35 pmyay you’re back in action 😉 so good to have a kitchen with good lighting..makes a lot of difference aye!
i love those chinese pork belly dishes…too bad this one is just missing that little something. do share with us once u tweak it to perfection 😉
mademoiselle délicieuse
November 20, 2010 at 9:37 amWelcome back! And good to hear the kitchen of the new abode is everything you want it to be – congrats again =)
Katherine
November 20, 2010 at 7:44 pmWelcome back Amy. Congrats on the new place. Love pork belly. I cant wait to see all your future post from you new place. You are lucky to have so much natural light coming in.
cityhippyfarmgirl
November 21, 2010 at 8:31 amHooray! Your back!…and hooray for a sunlit kitchen 😉
Piggy looks tasty, untweaked and all.
Reeni
November 21, 2010 at 12:43 pmCongratulations on your new house! I never had pork belly – you sure make it look delicious!
sweetlife
November 21, 2010 at 5:25 pmYOUR BACK!!! YEAH!!! Congrats on the new house, how exciting..flooded with light..how wonderful, can’t wait to see your future pics, these are delish!! pork belly oh girl you had me at pork belly!!
sweetlife
Conor @ Hold the Beef
November 21, 2010 at 10:06 pmCONGRATULATIONS!!!! So exciting, hooray for the new house 🙂
Good to see you back here, and a super tasty recipe to say hello too 🙂
Rhonda ( The Dainty Baker)
November 22, 2010 at 4:44 pmHoorayy!!! your back!!! oooo this looks like an immense dish!! yum!!!!!
tasteofbeirut
November 24, 2010 at 7:21 amSo happy for you to have finally a place of your own! It is a great feeling !
This dish looks fantastic and the step by step photos are highly appreciated
a Lebanese daily ran a story recently on one of Chairman Mao’s closest friend and collaborator, a doctor who married a Chinese lady and saved a lot of lives from epidemic in China in those days: he was a Lebanese!
anyway, have a great weekend!
Crustabakes
November 25, 2010 at 2:19 amCongrats on your new home. I shall be looking forward to looking at your prettyful pictures with all that sunlight into the kitchen!
mycookinghut
November 29, 2010 at 3:20 amYummy! This looks absolutely delicious!
Forager @ The Gourmet Forager
December 9, 2010 at 9:43 amCongrats on the house! We’re still looking for ours and there’s no end in sight. Your kitchen sounds wonderful – all that sunlight! Just what I’m hoping for in our kitchen too!
I thought this dish was very tasty at Chairman Mao’s – a tad fatty and rich but tasty – will take your tweaking advice into account when making it 🙂
joey@FoodiePop
February 5, 2011 at 6:34 amLooks fantastic!
Lisa
April 6, 2011 at 8:08 pmYum just cooked this! I also added some orange peel an some kafir lime leaves then once braised took out the pork and reduced to a glaze then re-added the pork! Served with steamed rice a delicious though rich meal. Thank you for a great dinner x