Recipe: Chinese New Year Red-braised Pork Belly

Thanks to Torafuku executive chef Clement Chan for this lucky recipe! Find out how this superstar chef is ringing in the Year of the Rooster here!

Red-braised Pork Belly Dish

Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients:

900 g skin-on pork belly
2 tbsp (25 ml) Rooster 100% Pure Canola Oil
3 tbsp (45 ml) crushed Chinese rock sugar or granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 ml) Chinese rice wine (Shao Hsing) or dry sherry
3 cups (750 ml) T&T chicken broth
2 tbsp (25 ml) each Rooster Superior Soy Sauce and Rooster Superior Dark Soy Sauce
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick (2 inch/5 cm stick)
3 green onions
2 inch (5 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled
Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Method:

1. Bring large saucepan of water to a boil. Add pork; return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook 5 minutes. Transfer with tongs to cutting board; let cool enough to handle. Cut into 1 inch (2 cm) chunks. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in wok or large (4 L) saucepan over low heat. Add sugar; cook, stirring, until melted and light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat; carefully add rice wine. (Note: Mixture may splatter and steam.)
3. Stir in pork, broth, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, star anise and cinnamon stick; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
4. Slice 2 green onions into 2 inch (5 cm) lengths. Add ginger to cutting board; hit sliced green onions and ginger several times with back of knife to lightly bruise and crush. Stir into pork mixture. Reduce heat to medium low; cover and cook until pork is fork tender, about 1 hour.
5. Uncover; skim fat from surface of cooking liquid and discard. Increase heat to medium; cook uncovered, stirring often, until sauce is thick and syrupy, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard star anise and cinnamon stick. Transfer pork mixture to serving bowls. Thinly slice remaining green onion; sprinkle over top of pork mixture. Garnish with cilantro.

Chef’s tip: If you can’t find pork belly, use 900 g boneless pork shoulder roast instead.

Per serving: 390 calories, fat 37 g (13 g of which is saturated), sodium 220 mg, carbohydrate 6 g, fibre 0 g, sugars 5 g, protein 7 g