Hongshao Rou (Red Braised Pork Belly)
Hongshao rou (lit. red-cooked meat) is a traditional Chinese pork dish. It is a very popular homemade dish, but it is rarely found in Western restaurants. Often a family's exact recipe is a secret and passed down the generations. It consists of pork belly in a thick, sweet, dark sauce, simmered for a long time to soften the normally tough meat. Frequently other meats such as tripe or beef tendon are used in addition to the pork.
Ingredients
- 700 g pork belly, cubed
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 350 ml pork or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 50 ml Shaoxing rice wine
- 3 star anise pods
- 4 small spring onions, sliced
Ingredients for 4 servings (1.3 kg) · the original recipe
Method
- 1
In a medium saucepan, over high heat, heat the oil and sugar together until the sugar melts and turns brown.
Stovetop - 2
Add the cubed pork to the sugar and oil and brown all over.
- 3
Reduce the heat, add the stock, ginger, star anise, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine to the pan.
- 4
Cover tightly and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it burning at the bottom.
Stovetop - 5
Remove the lid and add the spring onions.
- 6
Boil the sauce until only a thick, dark gravy is left.
Stovetop - 7
The dish may be served now, but if possible, refrigerate for a day to allow the flavours to develop.
- 8
Serve with rice, garnish with sliced spring onion.
Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.
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