Food & Receipts

How to cook tender and savory Chinese braised pork with a golden and glossy brown color: Should you close or leave the lid open while cooking?

Making thịt kho tàu is not difficult at all. There are many different ways to cook it and many people adjust it to create their own recipe. Here is the basic method:

Administrator

24 February, 2024

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Ingredients:

600gr pork belly or pork leg. It is best to choose a piece with both lean meat and fat to have tender and visually appealing meat. The fat-to-lean ratio should be equal; if you are concerned about the fat, you can get a piece with more lean meat.

4 chicken eggs or 10-15 quail eggs.

1 fresh coconut (for coconut water).

Sugar or pre-made food coloring.

Fish sauce, sugar, soup powder, black pepper, cooking oil.

Dried shallots, garlic, chili pepper.

Instructions:

How to make delicious and authentic braised pork.

Rinse the meat with diluted salt water. Pour water into a pot, add 1 spoonful of salt, 1 spoonful of wine, then put in the meat and boil it for a short while. Take it out and rinse it, then cut it into large square pieces.

Marinate the meat for 30 minutes to 1 hour with 2 spoonfuls of fish sauce, 1 spoonful of sugar, 1 spoonful of soup powder, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 spoonful of cooking oil, and chopped shallots and garlic.

Boil the eggs until cooked, then peel off the shells. Depending on your preference, you can lightly fry the eggs to make the shells crispy.

Put 2 spoonfuls of sugar in a pan and stir until it turns dark brown, then add water to the pan and boil it to extract the coloring.

Put the pot on the stove, add cooking oil and chopped shallots to the pot and sauté until fragrant, then add the pork and stir-fry until it is slightly cooked. Next, add coconut water and coloring (optional) to cover the meat. Initially, turn the heat high to boil and remove the foam, then reduce the heat so the meat becomes tender gradually and the coconut water turns a deep yellow color.

Note: To keep the meat broth clear and beautiful, with the meat pieces shiny and fresh, you should leave the pot uncovered throughout the cooking process. If you cover the pot continuously, the broth will become cloudy and the meat pieces will not look appealing. If the coconut water runs out, you can add boiling water. Don’t add too much coconut water, otherwise the pot of meat will have a too dark and unappealing color.

When the meat is slightly tender, add the boiled eggs and cook together. You should not add the eggs too early because if braised for a long time, the eggs will become tough and lose their flavor, and the outer shell will turn dark brown and not visually appealing.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, usually the meat broth already has a natural sweetness from the coconut water, so just add a little fish sauce to make the broth flavorful.

To keep the braised pork delicious for many days, you should divide it into several portions and store them in the refrigerator. When eating, heat up each portion, and the meat and eggs will not become tough from multiple re-heating.

Braised pork is very good with rice, especially when served with raw vegetables and pickles. The richness of the meat combined with the sourness of pickled vegetables such as cucumber, radish, beet… or the aromatic flavor of herbs will help prevent greasiness effectively.

Frequently asked questions

To cook this delicious dish, you’ll need pork belly, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, rock sugar, ginger, garlic, green onions, and water. Marinate the pork in a mixture of light soy sauce, rice wine, and ginger for at least 30 minutes. Then, heat up a wok or pot and add the dark soy sauce, rock sugar, garlic, and green onions. Stir-fry the pork in this mixture until it turns golden brown. Finally, add water and bring it to a boil before lowering the heat and simmering until the pork is tender.

For the best results, it is recommended to leave the lid open while cooking. This allows the moisture to evaporate, creating a tender and savory dish with a glossy, golden-brown color.

Firstly, ensure that you are using fresh, high-quality pork belly. Secondly, don’t skip the marination process as it helps to infuse the pork with flavor and tenderness. Also, be sure to stir-fry the pork until it is golden brown before adding water, as this adds to the dish’s overall flavor and appearance. Lastly, adjust the cooking time as needed to ensure the pork is tender.

The key ingredients are pork belly, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, rock sugar, ginger, garlic, green onions, and water. Each ingredient plays a crucial role in creating the dish’s unique flavor and appearance.