Braised Pork

By: Christina Hua

Back when my sister and I were younger, all we wanted to do was eat. We would sit for hours in my grandma’s hot living room in China waiting for my grandma to finish making dinner so we can chow down whatever food she placed in front of us. Because our grandma is from the southern part of China, she is a very talented cook and has a gift for using spices to her advantage. Even though she was able to create many different delicious dishes, our all time favorite dish is my grandma’s braised pork. She could make a cauldron full and we would still be able to eat all of it. Because of its slightly sweet taste and tenderness, it quickly became our favorite food from the first time we ate it.

Now that we don’t see our grandma so often, we aren’t able to eat our favorite food so much. Fortunately for us, our dad learned how to make it from his mother years ago, so we are still able to eat some from time to time. Here’s are the ingredients and recipe:

Ingredients*:

1. 1-1.5 lbs of pork belly
2. Ginger (to your taste)
3. Green onion (to your taste)
4. 1-4 hard boiled eggs
5. ½ cup of bamboo shoots
6. 1 tbsp sugar  
7. 2 tbsp light soy sauce
8. 1 tbsp dark soy sauce(for color)
9. 1 tbsp vinegar
10. 1 tbsp cooking wine
11. 2 tbsp ABC soy sauce

*can change to whatever fits your taste

Steps:

1. Put cold water in pot. Pork, cut into dice. Put into cold water. Boil. Clean all the blood that comes out. When no more blood comes out, take out the pork. Clean under running water. Use the remaining hot water to boil the bamboo shoot. Take out bamboo shoot, use the remaining hot water to boil eggs.
2. Prepare for the sugar: heat the oil. put in sugar (just about 1 tablespoon sugar), and stir fry into syrup.
3. Add ginger and green onion into pot to stir fry the pork.
4. Add a peeled hard boiled egg.
5. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce(for color), vinegar, cooking wine, ABC soy sauce.
6. Boil on high heat, then turn to low heat for one hour.