Sous-vide pork belly in red sauce

Braised (Sous-vided) Pork Belly in Master “Red” Sauce

For marinade

• • One slab of pork belly, about 2-3 lb (preferably including bones) 

  • 1/2 tablespoon white pepper

  • 1/2 tablespoon five-spice

  • ½ cup dark soy sauce

  • 1/2 cup Shaoshing rice wine

  • 1 cup vegetable oil for pan-frying

For sous-viding sauce

• • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic

  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onion

  • 1 piece star anise

  • ½ tablespoon ground Sichuan peppercorns

  • 1 big lump of rock sugar to taste

  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

  • 1 cup preserved Chinese vegetable (Mei-chia) soaked, rinsed and chopped. (optional)

  • 1 cup chicken/pork bone stock (gelatin quality)

Preparation

• 1. Rub the pork belly with marinade and leave for 3-4 hour.

  2. Pat dry marinated pork belly with kitchen paper towel.

  3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot.

  4. Brown the rind side of the pork until crisp

  5. Brown the meat side slightly

  6. Put the whole belly in an elongated sous-vide bag.

  7. Prepare sous-viding sauce-- First brown ginger, garlic and onion and then add remaining ingredients and marinade and simmer for 15-20 minutes until sauce reduced by half and let it cool.

  8. Add the sauce to the bag containing the pork belly.

  9. Vacuum and seal bag with chamber vacuum machine. If you use Foodsaver, you may want to chill the sauce into gelatin first. 

  10. Set water bath temperature to 88C and sous-vide for 8-10 hours depending on how soft you want the texture to be. You can try 80C for 12-16 hours for less fat melt but more silky smooth fat texture.

  11. Serving: Place pork rind up on a deep dish. Reduce sauce by boiling until thick and pour over pork belly. Garnish with fresh coriander.