Chairman Mao red braised pork

Method

1. 1 Blanch the pork belly for 5 minutes, then rinse and cut into 4 cm squares.
2. 2 Fry the meat in a dry pan for 8 minutes until the fat renders out, then drain off the excess fat.
3. 3 Caramelize the rock sugar until it turns a golden brown color, then coat the meat with the caramel.
4. 4 This version uses very little soy sauce and gets its color mainly from caramelized sugar, so the sweetness is more prominent than the saltiness.
5. 5 Pour in Shaoxing wine and just enough hot water to cover the ingredients, then add dried chili peppers, cinnamon, star anise, and ginger.
6. 6 Simmer over the lowest heat for 90 minutes, then reduce until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy, and sprinkle with chopped scallions.

With an appliance

• Pressure cooker 1 hr 20 min

  Replace step 6: high pressure cooking for 32 minutes, then release pressure naturally and boil for 12 minutes.