Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly

Tender morsels of pork simmered with ginger, garlic, chili peppers, brown sugar and soy sauce make this spicy braised ginger pork belly the most succulent meal!

This is a recipe I’ve been sitting on a long time because I never seem to have time for good looking “after” photos when it’s done. So please excuse the terrible lighting. I promise that this dish is much tastier than my photos make it look! I chose to share it now because with B for braised and B for belly, it is perfect for today's Alphabet Challenge post. (More on which after the recipe.)

I like to serve this dish with fluffy steamed rice, either long-grained basmati or brown, and stir-fried greens, like baby kalian. A good substitute, if you can’t find baby kalian, is broccolini aka tenderstem broccoli. 

Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly 

It takes a while to braise so that the pork belly is melt-in-your-mouth tender. Also, you don’t want to rush the process by using a high fire when reducing the sauce or it could burn. This dish is so worth the wait. Your patience will be amply rewarded.

Ingredients

800g or 1.75 lbs pork belly

2 red chili peppers

4 cloves garlic

2 inch or 5cm knob ginger

1/2 cup, firmly packed, or 100g dark brown sugar

1/4 cup or 60ml soy sauce

1/4 cup or 60ml Shaoxing wine or substitute dry sherry

1/4 cup or 60ml rice vinegar

To garnish: fresh cilantro leaves

Method

Trim any gristly bits off of the pork belly and discard. Cut the pork belly into small chunks. 

Peel and chop your garlic and ginger. Slice the chili peppers. 

Add the pork, ginger, garlic, peppers and brown sugar to a wide pan that has a tight-fitting lid. Add in the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and rice vinegar. Stir well. 

Now add just enough water to almost cover the pork. This amount depends on the size of your pan.

Bring the liquid to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer. 

Cover with the tight-fitting lid and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding a little water, if necessary. Remove the lid and raise the heat a little, cook till you have reduced the liquid to deliciously thick stickiness. 

At the very end, a spatula or spoon should leave a gap that the sauce doesn’t immediately run in to close again. 

Garnish with some fresh cilantro leaves when ready to serve. 

Enjoy!

As mentioned above, I'm sharing this recipe today as part of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge. Every other Wednesday we will share a recipe starting with the next consecutive letter of the alphabet. Many thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for including me. This is our second post so, of course, we are highlighting the letter B. If you missed A, you can find those links here in my Anchovy Deviled Egg post. 

• Palatable Pastime: Blueberry Biscuits 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Bisque of Lobster 
• Blogghetti: 20 Minute Bean and Beef Tostadas 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Bagel Chips from Leftover Bagels 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Beetroot Mezhukkupuratti 
• Food Lust People Love: Braised Brown Sugar Pork Belly 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Spicy Barbecue Seasoned Rice Chex Mix 
• Culinary Cam: Börek with a California Twist 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Beetroot Tomato Soup 
• Magical Ingredients: Beet Fennel Paratha 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Brooklyn Blackout Cake
• Sizzling Tastebuds: Barley Karamani Adai

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly - this post!

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