Braised Pork Belly

Braised Pork Belly is a deliciously boldly flavored but still balanced dish made of pork chunks sauteed in garlic,onions, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, star anise, some water, boiled quail eggs, chillies, and spring onions. Sweet, savory, and salty. Melt in your mouth pork best served with a bowl of rice and a tall glass of iced drink.

Braised Pork Belly Recipe :

Ingredients

• 1 kilo pork belly, sliced to bite-sized pieces
• 1 thumb ginger, minced plus extra for simmering
• ½ tablespoon salt
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pepper to taste
• 3 pieces star anise
• 2 cups water
• 20 pieces quail eggs, boiled and de-shelled
• Red chillies, sliced
• Spring onions, sliced

Steps:

1. In a pot, add in the pork belly. Pour in enough water to cover the pork, add in ginger and salt. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Take out the ginger and strain.
2. In a pan, heat some oil and sear the strained pork belly till it turns light brown in color. Add in ginger and mix well. Then saute in the garlic and onions.
3. Pour in oyster sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, pepper, star anise, and water. Cover and simmer for 30 – 35 minutes or till the pork is tender.
4. This should easily be pierced by a fork. Add in the quail eggs and mix well. Add in red chillies and spring onions and give it a good mix before transferring this into a plate to serve.

How does this differ from other braised pork belly recipes?

This dish sometimes called “Chinese Braised Pork Belly recipe” or “Hong Shao Niu Rou” is a simple but delightfully flavorful dish made with easy to find ingredients. A popular dish from China, many Asians might be familiar with the sticky sweet-savory red sauce that covers the tender pork chunks. A dish with many versions and variations, which almost all who has given this a try can confirm might be one of the best dishes even a beginner cook can make easily.

How to make braised pork belly with egg? Simply chop the pork belly into smaller chunks to make them easier to cook. This also lessens the cooking time. Place these in a bowl with enough water to cover the top of the pork, adding some sliced ginger to help remove any of the foul smells they might have. Simmer covered for 5 minutes before straining the water, rinsing these under running water if there are any visible scum. After, sear the pork belly in a new pan with a bit of oil, add in the ginger, garlic, and onions, sauteing the aromatics till fragrant. Pour in the sauce mixture composed of oyster sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, pepper, star anise, and water. Give this a bit of a stir before covering to simmer for 30 – 35 minutes more or less until the pork feels tender. Once ready, add in the boiled and de-shelled quail eggs, some spicing onions for color, and chilies for spice. A deliciously sweet and savory pork dish that looks complicated to make but can actually be done in just a few steps. Try to make Yummy Kitchen’s version of this very easy braised pork belly!

Questions :

• Braised pork belly calories

There are around 585 calories for a serving of 100 grams.

• Other cuts of pork to use ?
  • Aside from chopping these into chunks you can also make braised pork belly slices, by slicing these in pork chop sized pieces as thick or thin as you like.
  • Some also use the pork shoulder as its juicer and said to be a bit healthier due to the collagen content, making a “Chinese Braised Pork Shoulder” dish. You can also use the knuckles or hocks if you’d like. These might take longer if you do.
  • Other meats you can use are chicken, the whole chicken, chopped into parts, or specific parts to make “Red Braised Chicken”.
  • For vegetarians or vegans a good alternative would be mushrooms or tofu.

• Other methods for cooking this dish ?
  • Try the healthier “Oven Braised Pork Belly” which is made of pork and all the ingredients except the eggs, chillies, and green onions. After these are mixed, place in an oven safe dishware. Baked in a preheated 350°F to 177°C oven for 20 – 30 minutes till the pork is tender and the sauce is slightly thick. Mix after every 5 – 10 minutes and cover with foil if the sauce burns too easily. After, mix and garnish with the eggs, green onions, and chillies.
  • To make “Slow Braised Pork Belly” or “Chinese Braised Pork Belly Slow Cooker“, this option is best used for bigger and thicker chunks. Repeat step 1 as follows, strain and remove any of the scum before placing the pork and all the ingredients expert the eggs, chillies, and green onions in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 – 2 hours or on low for 7 – 8 hours. After, mix in the remaining ingredients.
  • Option 3: “Braised Pork Belly Instant Pot” switch the instant pot into the ‘saute’ setting and cook the aromatics before adding all the ingredients except the pork, eggs, chillies, and green onions. Cover and cook for 5 minutes at a high pressure setting. Relieve the pressure, uncover and add in the pork belly pieces. Cook these at high heat for 15 – 20 minutes. Take off the lid, check if the pork pieces are tender before adding in the remaining ingredients. Mix well before serving.

• Other additional ingredients ?
  • To add more fiber try adding leafy vegetables at the end like pechay, bok choy, or cabbage, you can also use preserved vegetables to make “Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables”, though if you do, lessen the salt as these might turn out too salty.
  • For a spicer take; add a tablespoon or 2 of hot sauce, sriracha, more chillies, or gochujang (Korean chili paste)  and to make some “Gochujang Braised Pork Belly”.

• How to make Braised Pork Belly keto ?
  • The biggest change to make these keto would be to change the sugar into stevia, monk fruit, or just omit these altogether. 
  • Remove the salt in the list of ingredients.
  • Instead of oyster sauce use coconut aminos.

How to serve this dish?

You can serve this dish over some steaming cup of freshly cooked white rice, or your choice of grains like brown, black, red, or even fried rice. Some take these up a notch as shred the pork pieces to palace into burritos or tacos to make “Braised Pork Belly Tacos”. Some use thinner sliced pork pieces and even char them on both sides to place over ramen to serve up some “Braised Pork Belly Ramen”. For any leftovers you can chop these into pieces and make some fried rice or make into the main meat for chow mein.

Other Yummy Pork Belly Recipes!

• Pork Belly Steak
• Pan Grilled Pork Belly
• Pork Belly Hamonado
• Gochujang Pork Belly
• Stir-fry Cabbage with Pork Belly
• Lechon Pork Belly
• Crispy Pork Belly

Braised Pork Belly Resipi: (Tagalog version)

Mga Sangkap :

• 1 kilo pork belly, hiniwa ng maliliit na piraso
• 1 hinlalaking luya, tinadtad dagdagan ng konti pa pang kulo
• ½ kutsarang asin
• 6 butil ng bawang, tinadtad
• 1 sibuyas, tinadtad
• 3 kutsarang oyster sauce
• 3 kutsarang soy sauce
• 2 kutsarang asukal
• Paminta panlasa
• 3 piraso anis
• 2 tasa tubig
• 20 piraso itlog ng pugo, naluto at tinanggalan ng balat
• Pulang sili, hiniwa
• Dahon ng sibuyas, hiniwa

Paano Lutuin :

1. Sa palayok, ilagay ang pork belly at takpan ito ng tubig, lagyan ng luya at asin. Takpan at pakuluin ng 5 minuto. Tanggalin ang luya at salain.
2. Sa kawali, uminit ng mantika at lutuin ang mga sinala na pork belly hanggang mag kayumanggi ang mga ito. Haluan ng luya, pagkatapos haluin at lutuin ang mga bawang at sibuyas.
3. Ibuhos ang  oyster sauce, soy sauce, asukal, paminta, anis, at tubig. Takpan at pakuluin ng 30 – 35 minuto o hanggang lumambot ang baboy.
4. Pag mabilis na itong tusukin gamit ang tinidor. Ilagay ang mga itlog at haluin ng mabuti. Haluan din ito ng sili at dahon ng sibuyas bago ilipat ito sa plato para ihanda.