Braised pork with bamboo shoots

Braised pork with bamboo shoots

Shanghai cuisine emphasizes thick oils and red sauces, and braised pork is its representative example. It has a rich color and sweet taste, and you will never get tired of eating it. It is a home-cooked dish in many families. In addition to dried bamboo shoots, the meat is also paired with dried plums, dried beans, etc.

Ingredients for Braised Pork with Dried Bamboo Shoots

600g pork belly, 100g dried bamboo shoots, 200ml dark soy sauce, 250ml beer, 1 tsp (5g) five-spice powder, 10g rock sugar, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 star anise, 2 tsp (10ml) oil, 2 tbsp (30g) granulated sugar, 250ml boiling water, 1 tsp (5g) salt

How to make braised pork with dried bamboo shoots

After cleaning the bamboo shoots, put them into a pot, add appropriate amount of water (the amount of water should be 2cm above the bamboo shoots), boil over high heat, turn off the heat, let it cool, then soak in cold water for 2 hours, changing the water once in the middle. Clean the pork belly, wipe it dry with kitchen paper, and cut it into pieces of appropriate size.

Pour oil into a wok, heat over medium heat until 70% hot, add the chopped pork belly, fry until both sides of the meat are slightly charred, then serve.

Clean the wok, add granulated sugar and 15ml of cold boiled water, stir-fry over medium heat until the granulated sugar turns golden yellow and smells like caramel, then pour in boiling water.

Then add the fried pork belly, dark soy sauce, beer, five-spice powder, rock sugar, garlic and star anise. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Add the soaked bamboo shoots, add salt, stir well, and continue to simmer for 20 minutes until the meat is cooked.

Tips

Soaking dried bamboo shoots repeatedly in water before cooking is to remove the sour taste in them. If it is summer, it is best to soak them in the refrigerator.

Frying or deep-frying the pork belly can force out the excess oil in the pork belly, making it less greasy to eat.

When making braised pork, using beer instead of cooking wine or Shaoxing wine can make the meat taste more tender, because the enzyme in beer can quickly break down the protein in the meat.