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Unreel Recipes
cooking · Main Course

Maiale Brasato alla Cinese

From a video by Cucina con Feng · 15 min watch

Tender Chinese-style braised pork belly in a savory, slightly sweet soy-based sauce with spices. The meat is blanched, browned, simmered until very tender, then reduced to a glossy caramelized coating. Traditionally served with steamed white rice.

Main CourseChinese
Maiale Brasato alla Cinese
Source video — Cucina con Feng on YouTube
From the creator
Cucina con Feng
Visit their channel ↗
Watch the full video on YouTube ↗
Total time
~2 hoursEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Hands-on
~25 minutesEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Servings
2 servings
Difficulty
MediumEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Cook this recipe
Extraction confidence: high

Auto-generated from the video and rewritten in our own words. Double-check quantities against the source before cooking.

Ingredients

Ingredients scaled to 2 servings
  • 400 g pork belly with skin, with skin
  • 100 g scallion
  • 30 g ginger, old ginger
  • 15 ml rice wine
  • 40 ml rice wine
  • 2 g salt
  • 10 ml light soy sauce
  • 10 ml dark soy sauce
  • 10 ml oil
  • 2 star anise, pieces
  • cinnamon stick, small piece
  • 2 bay leaf, leaves
  • 2 g sugar
  • 500 ml beer
  • water
  • water
  • 80 ml water

Preparation

  1. Step 1
    Burn the skin side of the pork belly in a hot dry wok (or with a blowtorch) until the skin is cleaned and slightly crispy. Place in a bowl of room-temperature water, then scrape off all the burnt parts to remove any bitter taste.
  2. Step 2
    Place the pork belly in a pot with abundant cold water to fully cover the meat. Add half the ginger (15 g), 40 ml rice wine, and half the scallions. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Drain, shock in cold tap water, and let cool completely.
  3. Step 3
    Pat the cooled pork belly dry with paper towels and cut into thick slices (about 1.5 cm thick, roughly 1.5 cm x 2-3 cm pieces).
  4. Step 4
    Heat a clean wok. Add a little oil to make it non-stick, then remove the excess oil. Add the pork belly slices, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and remaining scallions and ginger. Lower the heat and brown the meat on all sides, allowing the fat to render out. Pour off the rendered fat.
  5. Step 5
    Add 15 ml rice wine and the light soy sauce. Increase the heat slightly and cook for about 1 minute. Add the beer, 80 ml water, salt, sugar, and dark soy sauce. Stir to combine. Add the remaining ginger and the rest of the scallions (cut if large).
  6. Step 6
    Cover the wok, bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, checking occasionally to ensure the liquid does not dry out too quickly. Remove the spices, scallions, and ginger.
  7. Step 7
    Increase the heat slightly to reduce the sauce, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Continue cooking and stirring for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens, caramelizes, and coats the meat. Adjust heat as needed to avoid scorching.
  8. Step 8
    Plate the braised pork belly and garnish with thinly sliced fresh scallion.

Notes