Braised pork is a popular dish. However, when many people braise it with caramel sauce, the meat turns dark, the lean meat becomes dry, and the fat becomes mushy. If your family loves this dish but you are not confident in making it, apply the 2 tips below to braise pork faster, with a more beautiful color, and a fragrant, fatty, and delicious taste.
Prepare braised pork ingredients
1 kg of pork belly (you can adjust the amount depending on the number of family members)
Duck eggs, quail eggs, or chicken eggs, depending on your family’s preference. Some people like to add eggs to the braising process, while others do not.
1 liter of fresh coconut water and 1 can of beer (these are the two important ingredients that help make braised pork tasty and tender quickly without having to braise for a long time)
Finely chopped onion and garlic
Finely chopped green onion
Seasoning: fish sauce, sugar, seasoning powder, pepper
Step 1: Note on preparing and marinating the meat
To make delicious braised pork, you need to choose fresh, new meat that is still elastic when pressed. The best meat for braised pork is usually the pork belly with even grain, enough lean meat, beautiful grain, and no separation between the lean meat and fat…
Soak the purchased meat in diluted salt water or ginger wine for about 30 minutes to remove blood and impurities. Then, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.
Put the meat in a bowl and marinate it with chopped onion, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, seasoning powder, and pepper. Then, marinate the meat in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours to absorb the spices. If you are in a hurry, you can braise it right away. If you have time, you can put the meat in the sun for about 30 minutes, and the braised pork will be crystal clear.
While marinating the meat, boil the eggs. Do not boil the eggs for too long. After removing them from the heat, immediately put them in cold water to make them easy to peel and keep the egg white beautiful and shiny. After peeling the eggs, you can poke a few holes in them so that they will absorb the spices better when braised.
Step 2. Braising the meat
Bring the coconut water to a boil in a pot. When the water boils, add the meat to the pot and the beer. Then, simmer to prevent the meat from breaking. Braise for about 40 minutes until the meat is tender and the water turns dark. Then, add the eggs and braise. The meat and eggs have a beautiful color. Season to taste according to your family’s preference.
What is the use of coconut water and beer in braised pork?
When using coconut water and sugar to braise the meat, the water takes on a beautiful color, along with the color of the beer.
Beer contains many amino acids that help the protein in the meat cook faster. Therefore, when adding beer, the braised pork will become tender quickly. Beer helps make the pork look clearer and more beautiful and tender without being mushy. Adding beer to the braising process also helps make the meat softer. The beer evaporates during the braising process, so there will be no alcohol left in the meat. Beer helps the meat become more tender and beautiful.
Coconut water is both fragrant and adds a stronger flavor to braised pork, creating a more refreshing aroma than using caramel sauce. Coconut water helps the dish have a stronger flavor and a certain level of richness that pure water cannot match.
Do not braise the meat and eggs for too long, as this will make the eggs dry and hard. The finished product is tender meat, delicious, rich water, beautiful color, and fragrant.
Braised pork can be kept for a few days, and when you need to braise it again, to avoid dryness, add some coconut water.
Tips for Selecting the Best Coconut
Are you looking for delicious, refreshing coconut water? Do you want to find out which coconuts offer the best combination of nutritional value and taste? We will help you out with this guide, as we provide you tips on how to select sweet and watery coconuts packed with essential vitamins (A and E) and minerals (calcium and potassium), among others.