Juicy steaks, burgers and ribs are extremely popular, but I often find that they are a) meant to be eaten by people with huge appetites and b) too greasy and oily for my tastes. Unfortunately, there are not many alternatives to be found in restaurants, so I decided to offer this homemade pork recipe.

Hong shao rou (translated as “red braised pork belly”) is a classic dish from the Chinese mainland. It differs from Western-style pork dishes due to its rich, sweet and salty taste, strongly flavored by numerous spices. It is fairly light in the stomach, though, and has a soft, chewy texture from being stewed for long periods of time. This is an excellent dish for a family dinner, and the recipe underneath serves four.

Ingredients

1 Pound of Pork Belly

Cooking Sherry

Soy Sauce

Black Pepper

Sugar

Salt

Green Onion

Ginger Roots

Garlic

Directions

1. Wash the pork belly in cold water, then drain it.
2. Cut the pork belly into inch-sized cubes.
3. Place the cubes in a saucepan.
4. Pour in two tablespoons of cooking sherry, four tablespoons of soy sauce, and one tablespoon of sugar.
5. Add one stalk of green onion, three ginger roots slices, one clove of garlic, and a dash of black pepper and salt.
6. Fill the saucepan with cold water, enough to thoroughly cover the meat.
7. Turn the heat up and let the meat boil. Then turn the heat low and let it simmer for 45 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!
The pork is excellent if you cook some sticky rice and steam some vegetables (for me, usually spinach) to go alongside it. Once you are finished eating the meat, the sauce left over can be drizzled onto the rice.