Five-Spice Braised Pork Belly

Oftentimes, the simplest and easiest recipes turn out best! That is the case with this Chinese Braised Pork Belly. There is  nothing complicated at all in this recipe and yet it comes out so flavorful and delightful. It reminds me a little bit of the Filipino adobo, very simple, too and yet so wonderfully tasty.  


I am a huge Pork fan having grown up in the Philippines eating it while growing up. My mom used to raised pigs for our consumption. She really fed the hogs well and am sure we had lots of wonderful dishes as a result. And that would have included adobo, menudo, mechado, etc. among other Filipino dishes that make use of Pork. So, obviously I have thoroughly enjoyed eating this Pork dish especially with rice drizzled with it's wonderful sauce. :-)

If you are looking for an easy braised meat dish, I highly recommend this.

Ingredients

 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Kilo / 2.2 Lbs Pork Belly, sliced
5 Tablespoons, Dark Soy Sauce*
2 teaspoons, Five Spice Powder
1 inch-ginger (roughly thumb-size), peeled then thinly sliced (like matchsticks) or julienned
2 cups water
1 teaspoon Salt or to taste

 *Use a wheat-free brand if you wish to have a gluten-free version.

Procedure

Heat the oil in the wok. Add the brown sugar. Cook until the sugar caramelizes and turns light brown. Add the pork slices. Stir the pork in the sauce until they are well coated.

Pour in the soy sauce and water. Stir in the salt and Five-spice powder. Add the ginger slices.  Bring to a boil. Cover and then simmer gently over low heat for about 45 minutes or until the meat is fully tender.

Adjust to taste by adding soy sauce, salt or a little sugar, if desired. I think the flavor is just right/perfect but feel free to adjust it to your taste preference. Serve on top of freshly steamed rice with your favorite green vegetables on the side. Delicious!

Adapted from the recipe Braised Five-Spice Belly Pork from the Asian Cook by Terry Tan.

If you like what you see and would like to receive new recipe updates we'd love you to subscribe to our posts and join our site. Also do like us in Facebook so you can get the latest updates and so much more. Thanks for visiting and happy browsing!