Chinese Five Spice Braised Pork Belly With Lotus Root and Steamed Yucca
By: Joy Zhang
Published: Thursday, December 3, 2009 - 11:25am

Ingredients




Ingredients for Braised Pork Belly: (serves 2)
1 pound –  pork belly or shoulder, cut into 4-5″ pieces
1 lotus root
2 smalls yucca, steamed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup ShaoHsing Rice Cooking wine
4 cups water
1/2 cup dark soy sauce
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup rock sugar (yellow or white)
additional brown sugar to thicken liquid
4 cloves garlic
1 shallot, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons star anise
2 large ginger slices
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
salt to taste

Preparation

1 How to Steam Pork Belly: 2 Take a large pot and fill it a quarter of the way up with water.  Take your pork belly and place it in a heatproof bowl.  Add 1/4 cup of ShaoHsing Cooking Wine and one cinnamon stick and place it on a steamer rack inside the large pot.  Cover pot and allow pork to steam for 10-15 minutes or until the meat feels firm to the touch. 3 In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil at medium high heat.  When almost smoking, add the spices along with the ginger, garlic and shallots.  Once the spices are aromatic, add the pork belly along with the cooking wine and remaining liquids to the pot.  Stir to mix well and add the rock sugar.  Once sugar is dissolved, reduce mixture to low heat and braise for 2 hours.  If the liquid becomes too low, simply add more water and adjust the sweetness and salty level to your tastes. 4 Peel the lotus root and cut into thin slices.  Place in the braising liquid and cook until slightly tender, about 20 minutes.  It will have a nice starchy and crunchy texture to it.  Meanwhile, take the yucca and place it in a heat proof bowl.  Allow to steam until cooked through, about 30 minutes.  Once done, peel off the skin and mash the yucca to a paste.  Add a little bit of salt and sesame oil, set aside until ready to serve.

About


My earliest food memory as a child would have to be my mother’s braised pork shoulder otherwise known in Chinese as “Hong Sao Rou — here the centerpiece for a feast is turkey, at my home it was the almighty braised pork shoulder.  It was always everyone’s favorite, I’d remember smelling the wonderful aromas of star anise and ginger enriching the air melting into the delicious meat, and that rich succulent braising liquid that holds the union of spices and delicious juices of the pork in all that dark syrupy goodness.  I use to sit on my hands so I wouldn’t be tempted to steal tiny tastes before everyone else sat down at the table.    Once seated, my mother would exclaim “Bu yao ke qi, da jia chi chi chi!” meaning “No need to be polite, everyone eat eat eat!!”.  She never had to tell me twice, my chopsticks would immediately dart for the pork shoulder, but would be quickly slapped away by my mother — “Not until everyone gets some.”
That was horrible.  How could she make me wait? I would watch painfully as slice after slice was handed off to every plate EXCEPT MINE. But I’d tell myself the waiting made the pork taste even better and once it was my turn I would drench my rice in liquid heaven and ask for a slice of pork with a lot of pang ruo (fatty meat) on it!  It really was one of the most glorious, satisfying things I’ve ever tasted, like…ever.  So I am happy to share this recipe with you guys, it is a comfort food to many Chinese and is extremely popular in Shanghai.  The braising liquid becomes thick and sweet and is rich in spices like cinnamon, star anise and ginger. The pork meat, especially the fatty parts, are so melt in your mouth tender that the only logical reaction would be to close your eyes sit back and sigh MMMMmmm.