First, we get the wok ready
Heat up the wok until it is dried and the smoke comes out
And prepare a lump of pork belly and sear its skin to a golden crust
The purpose of this step is to remove the bad smell of pork skin
It takes about 3 minutes
Next step,
Rub and wash the pork belly lump in warm water
Do not wash with cold water during winter
Otherwise the black dirt would stick to the meat
After rinsing, prepare the minor ingredients for cooking meat
Crush a few lumps of ginger
Some scallion and coil into a knot
Put 2 star anises into the bowl
With 1 small piece of cinnamon
Then start boiling the meat
Fill half of the wok with water
Put in the belly lump before the water warms up
Put in the minor ingredients (ginger, scallion, star anise, cinnamon)
Also some Chinese cooking wine to taste
Boil it up with high heat, turn it low and keep boiling for 40 minutes
In order to cook the meat thoroughly
After 40 minutes, take out the meat if the chopstick can stab through the lump
A few more steps on pork belly
When the meat is still warm, spread some light soy sauce on its surface to taste
In order to color the meat
Here is my advice: if you are skillful enough, you can choose honey water or dark soy sauce; if not, use light soy sauce
After coloring, spread a layer of salt evenly upon the surface
This step is very important
It can prevent the oil from blowing up
Now let's start frying the meat
First, heat up the wok
Then put in Xiao Kuan You (literally "lesser broad oil")
Heat up the oil to about 210 °C
Put in the pork belly lump with its skin downward and fry it for 2 minutes
This step is to tighten the pork skin and fry it to a golden crust
To protect your skin, you'd better use a long hook
Take out the meat after 2 minutes
Then soak it in warm water for 10 minutes
This is for introducing a bubble-like texture to the skin
Prepare the side ingredients in this interval
Get 500g "Ya Cai" (Sichuan preserved mustard greens)
Rinse it for 5 times, then squeeze out the water
It needs to be washed many times to remove the dirt
You can also use "Mei Cai" (also a preserved veggies) as an alternative
Next step is to prepare the seasoning ingredients
Crush and chop garlic and ginger 20g each
Break 2 star anises into the bowl
A few Sichuan green peppercorns
Appropriate amount of dried chili pepper and cut into pieces
Skip chili pepper if you are not making it spicy
Chop some scallion for later use
Now let's get the seasoning sauce ready
Add 20g huangjiu (aka Chinese yellow wine)
3g dark soy sauce
10g caramelized sugar
A little Zhenjiang vinegar to reduce the greasy taste
Put in 30g fresh water
10g oyster sauce
One spoon of chicken broth powder (about 1.5g)
2 spoons of sugar (about 5g)
Finally, a little pepper powder and mix them thoroughly
Then let's start cooking "Ya Cai"
Stir and fry for 3 minutes in dry wok
In order to remove the water in "Ya Cai"
When it is all dried pour it out
Put in proper amount of base oil and heat up
When the oil temperature reaches about 180°C, put in the seasoning ingredients, stir and fry until aromatic
Then add in "Ya Cai", stir and fry for 2 minutes
Meanwhile put in some salt, chicken broth powder, and sugar to taste
Mind that rinsed "Ya Cai" hardly has any taste of salt
That's why we need to do another seasoning
After seasoning, stir and fry evenly, and take them out for later use
Next, let's get the pork ready
First, cut the pork into slices (as thick as about 3.5 mm)
Cut them thinner if you hope to reduce the greasy taste
Put the slices into a basin to season
Add the seasoning sauce and mix it with meat thoroughly
To let the flavour permeate into slices
After 10 minutes, arrange the slices into a bowl
Put in the cooked "Ya Cai"
put in the rest of seasoning sauce and it is almost done
Next step is putting the bowl into a steamer
When the steam comes out, turn to medium-low heat and steam for 2 hours
The purpose is to steam the pork slices until it can melt in your mouth
After 2 hours, take out the bowl, turn it upside down upon the palatte, and the dish is ready to serve
A rural, homely delicious dish "Xian Shao Bai" is finished (Steamed tender pork belly slices with "Ya Cai")
Here is the technical summary
First, you can choose pork belly or "Erdao Rou" (pork leg top cut) for a better taste and texture
Second, use "Mei Cai" if you prefer
Third, it's better to steam for at least two hours, so that it can have the effect of melting in mouth, being fat but not greasy
That's all for the tips