Chinese Braised Pork With Plums Recipes

BRAISED PORK WITH PLUMS

Steps:

• Cut the pork into big pieces about the length of your thumb and twice as wide. Put into a bowl or food bag, and add the wine, soy sauces, half the ginger, half the garlic and half the chilli. Marinate for at least 1 hr or up to 24 hrs.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3, then heat the oil in a large casserole. Tip in half the spring onions, remaining ginger and garlic, the star anise, five-spice powder and cinnamon. Fry gently until fragrant and soft. Stir in the sugar, turn up the heat, then lift the pork from the marinade and turn in the oniony mix for about 3 mins until the meat is just sealed but not browned. Tip in the marinade, tomato purée and stock, give it a stir, cover, then braise in the oven for 2 hrs.
• After the first hr is up, add the plums to the pan. Take the lid off and carry on the cooking, uncovered. The meat should be completely tender, turning golden brown where it breaks the surface of the sauce. Spoon off any excess fat from the surface, then scoop the meat and plums carefully from the pan with a slotted spoon. Turn up the heat and boil the sauce for 5-10 mins until reduced and slightly syrupy. Return everything to the pan, gently warm through, then scatter the rest of the spring onions over the top to serve.

CHINESE BRAISED PORK WITH PLUMS

Steps:

• Bring a very large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pork belly and boil for 15 mins until cooked. Cool to room temperature, then cut into 4cm chunks and make sure they're dry.
• Heat some of the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the pork in batches. Once browned, set aside. Put the onion, spring onion whites, ginger, garlic and coriander stalks in a blender and whizz to a paste.
• After browning the pork, wipe out the dish, add the paste with a splash of water and gently heat until softened. Stir in the five-spice powder, star anise, cinnamon and 1 tsp ground pepper. Fry for 1 min, then add the sugar, soy sauces, hoisin sauce, vinegar and ginger syrup. Return the pork, plus any juices, then crumble in the stock cube and add enough water to just cover. Stir in a third of the plums and bring to a gentle simmer while you heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Cover the dish and bake for 2 1⁄2 hrs.
• Lift the pork into an ovenproof dish, cover with foil and keep warm in a low oven. Put the sauce back on the hob and boil until reduced by about half. Add the remaining plums and cook for a few mins more, then return the pork. Finely slice the spring onion greens and scatter over with the coriander leaves. Serve with jasmine rice and stir-fried greens.

CHINESE BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Cut pork into eight 2x3-inch pieces.
• Heat oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat. In 2 batches, sear pork, fat sides first, until light golden, 30 to 60 seconds per side. Transfer to a plate. Pour out all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of the drippings.
• Add 1/3 cup sugar to pot; melt, stirring if needed, over medium-high heat. Cook until a light caramel color, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium, then return pork to pot, turning pieces to coat. When sugar darkens to an orange color, after about 1 minute, add water; stir to loosen any sugar stuck to the bottom.
• Add green onions, garlic, sherry, soy sauce, molasses, star anise, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. If needed, add up to 1/2 cup additional water to nearly cover pork. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, turning occasionally, until a knife inserted 1/4 inch into the fat layer meets little resistance, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
• Transfer pork to a plate with a slotted spoon; loosely cover. Skim fat and drain solids from cooking liquid. Return 4 cups liquid to pot and bring to a boil; simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to about 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.
• Slice pork into twenty-four 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Working in batches, warm pork with half the sauce in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Turn pork frequently to coat and, if desired, let sear slightly. Garnish with cucumber slices and sliced green onion.