Chinese Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) – So Easy! (VIDEO)
Sep 30, 2021, Updated Jul 26, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Red Braised Pork or Hong Shao Rou (红烧肉) is a beloved dish in China and for good reason! The glossy pork belly is super tender, melt in your mouth delicious, and the savory, sweet sauce is so good, you’ll be spooning extra over your rice!
Watch the Recipe Video For Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) Below!
Table of Contents
- Watch the Recipe Video For Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) Below!
- Ingredient Tips for Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
- Recipe Instructions for Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
- Expert Tips for Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
- Storage and Reheating
- What to Serve with Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
- Chinese Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) (VIDEO) Recipe
Ingredient Tips for Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) is packed with so much flavor, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear you only need 10 ingredients (most that are already in your pantry!) Other recipes vary with how sweet, savory, or even spicy it is – I think my version of Red Braised Pork is the perfect balance of tender meat in a glossy, sticky, aromatic sauce!
- pork belly: pork belly tends to shrink significantly when cooked, so I like to cut it into 2″ pieces; make sure each piece has both meat and fat. This helps the meat become tender during braising.
- “Authentic” Red Braised Pork uses skin-on pork belly; you can do with or without. I get my pork belly from any Asian grocery store – I find that they’re less fatty.
- Love pork? Me too! Crispy Pork Belly is my favorite way to make pork – and a close second is Pork Katsu! Pork tastes extra delicious in dishes like Sweet and Sour Pork or Spicy Pork Bulgogi!
- neutral oil: I always use avocado oil but you can also use canola or vegetable oil! I don’t use olive oil when cooking Chinese food for two reasons: 1. It has a low burning point and 2. I find that the flavor profile does not usually go with the dish.
- bay leaves
- star anise
- ginger sliced
- rock sugar – 40g is roughly a 2-3″ piece.
- If you’re not familiar with rock sugar, they’re produced in lumps and chunks of varying sizes and is usually pale gold in color. It’s sweet, although not as sweet as granulated sugar, and is used in Chinese dishes to add a beautiful glossy shine.
- I purchase mine from 99 Ranch (it comes in a bag of small chunks) and once opened, I keep it in an airtight container (just like regular sugar). You can also substitute with 2 tablespoons of white granulated sugar.
- shaoxing wine: this is a Chinese cooking wine and one of my key pantry essentials for Chinese cooking. If you are comfortable cooking with alcohol, I highly recommend picking up a bottle, as it adds a depth of flavor that really takes your dishes to the next level. However if you cannot or do not want to use this ingredient, you can substitute with sherry, mirin, or chicken stock.
- light soy sauce
- dark soy sauce: this is one of the key ingredients in Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) and there is no appropriate substitution in this dish. I use it often in my recipes, so I highly recommend picking up a bottle if you are interested in cooking more Chinese dishes!
- water
Braising is one of my favorite ways to cook because it’s so easy but results in the most flavorful, tender food – if you love braising too, try Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice, Three Cup Chicken, Korean Braised Tofu, or Mapo Tofu!
Recipe Instructions for Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Making Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) is super simple – most of the time is spent letting the pork simmer in the sauce.
1. Blanch the Pork
Slice pork belly into 2″ pieces and place in a pot of cold water. Bring to just before a boil to remove any impurities from the pork. Doing so will help the pork taste better and the sauce will not come cloudy.
Drain and remove any excess moisture from the pork with a paper towel.
2. Fry the Pork
In a wok or heavy bottom pan (dutch oven works great), heat 2 tbsp neutral oil over medium high heat. Add pork and cook for 2-3 minutes until the pork has a golden brown color.
3. Add Aromatics, Spices, and Liquids
Add sliced ginger, bay leaves, star anise and rock sugar to the pork and cook for 1 minute to let the spices infuse.
To your pork and spices, add 2.5 cups of water along with Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir to combine and bring to a low boil; reduce the heat to medium low and cover.
4. Simmer the Pork
Simmer the pork for 1 hour or until the sauce has become thick and caramel-like, and the pork is fork-tender.
Make sure to stir occasionally to ensure the sauce does not burn. If the liquid has reduced too much before the pork is tender, add 1-2 tbsp of hot water to help prevent burning.
Serve immediately over hot rice and spoon over extra sauce.
Key Tip
Expert Tips for Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Pork Tips
- Pork belly tends to shrink when cooked – cut into 2″ inch pieces so the pork is not too small in the final dish.
- Make sure the pieces are cut into similar sizes so they cook evenly.
- Each piece of pork belly should have both meat and fat – the fat helps the meat stay tender when braised.
- Don’t skip the blanching! Blanching removes any impurities and helps the pork belly taste better, and the sauce won’t turn gray.
Sauce Tips
- Once the 45min – 1 hour is up and the pork is fork tender, if there is still too much sauce, uncover the pot and continue simmering while stirring the pork. Some pork belly has a higher water content than other pieces, so you may need to cook for a little bit longer.
- If the sauce is reducing too quickly during braising, add 1-2 tbsp of water to help the sauce from burning.
- Don’t forget to stir occasionally while the pork belly is braising – this helps prevent the pork and sauce from burning.
- The sauce should look glistening and shiny, and there should be just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. It should not be soupy!
Storage and Reheating
Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) is a great dish to prepare in advance, as it keeps very well and the flavors taste even better the next day! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave.
What to Serve with Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Ru) is so flavorful, it goes well with simple vegetable dishes – something like Garlic Bok Choy or Bok Choy with Garlic Sauce, Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad or Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad, and Din Tai Fung Green Beans would be great!
If you tried this Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Chinese Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou) (VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs pork belly, cut into 2" cubes
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, I used avocado oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 star anise
- 2 inch ginger, sliced
- 40g rock sugar, 2-3" piece; sub 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup shaoxing wine
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2.5 cups water
Instructions
- Slice pork belly into 2" pieces and place in a pot of cold water. Bring to just before a boil to remove any impurities from the pork. Drain and remove any excess moisture from the pork with a paper towel.
- In a wok or heavy bottom pan (dutch oven works great), heat 2 tbsp neutral oil over medium high heat. Add pork and cook for 2-3 minutes until the pork has a golden brown color.
- Add sliced ginger, bay leaves, star anise and rock sugar to the pork and cook for 1 minute to let the spices infuse.
- To your pork and spices, add 2.5 cups of water along with Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir to combine and bring to a low boil and cover over low heat.
- Stirring occasionally to ensure sauce does not burn, simmer for 1 hour or until sauce has become thick and caramel-like and pork is tender.
- Serve immediately over hot rice and spoon over extra sauce.
Notes
If you find that the sauce isn’t reducing to a thick glaze, I would recommend you uncover and let it simmer. It may take a little bit longer to reduce due to higher water content in your specific piece of pork belly. SIMMER ON LOW
You want to avoid burning the sauce, since it contains sugar. Make sure you are simmering on low and stir occasionally to ensure it’s not burning!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
โฌ๏ธ
I love this recipe so much! Very flavourful and warm my stomach. Has become my comfort food.
IG: just_photography9009
Delicious, have never had anything like this before
IG-zach_opperman
This recipe hits every time. So tasty and so flavorful.
Iโve not had good luck with pork belly, but tried again and WOW! Incredible flavor! My whole family loved it and has requested it again multiple times.
This is so decadent but delicious. We ate it with rice and kimchi.
Iโve been using this as my go to recipe since I discovered it about a year ago, comes out so good everytime!
Made this with my aunt, and although it took longer than he said (Braising just takes a while often), it was all worth it as it was one of the best dishes I have made (my aunt is also just a very good cook). Soo delicious – we used all the actual ingredients in the recipe but I’m sure if you don’t have all of them, missing out on one or two works just as well
Beautiful yet simplistic, we make this at least once a month! The recipe is always a hit
I love this recipe. I havenโt had this in years and when I saw your video I had to make it. It is as good as I remember only think I did differently was add chilies. I will definitely be making this again.