Southern-Style Red-Braised Pork Belly

Ingredients

• Note: if possible, sharpen your knife well.
• Tools: `pot` (a clay pot is best, aluminum second, a pressure cooker also works; preferably not iron or copper)
• Main ingredient: `pork belly`
• Supporting ingredients: `oil`, `rock sugar`, `dark soy sauce`, `cooking wine`, `bay leaves`, `star anise`, `ginger`, `salt`, `scallion`, `boiling water`, `cold water`, `garlic`, `Sichuan peppercorns`

Steps

1. Before starting, it's recommended to read the tutorial on frying caramel color (tang se).
2. Don't cut the `pork belly` into small pieces yet; just cut it into large chunks that fit in the pot (about 5–6 cm wide).
3. Slice the `ginger` (about 3 mm thick per slice).
4. Bring the `boiling water` to a boil.
5. `Cold water`: tap water is fine.
6. `Scallion`: cut the white part (`scallion whites`) into short pieces (small scallions are best, large ones also work).
7. Cut the `garlic` in half; don't smash it, or it will be hard to fish out and will affect the flavor during the final `sauce reduction`.
8. Divide the supporting ingredients into two "prep packs":
9. Pack A (to remove odors): 2 slices of ginger, 2 scallion pieces.
10. Pack B (for braising): the remaining 4 slices of ginger, scallion whites, garlic cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise and bay leaves, all together in a small bowl.
11. Put the large pork chunks into a pot of cold water, add 20 ml cooking wine and Pack A (2 slices of ginger, 2 scallion pieces), boil for 15 minutes to remove the blood and odor, then take out and rinse clean.
12. Take out the blanched pork, let it cool slightly (until it's not too hot to touch), and cut it into cubes of about 3cm × 3cm × 3cm (blanching firms up the meat, so it's easier to cut and the pieces are more even than when raw. 3 cm cubes end up about 2.5 cm, the ideal bite size that cooks through easily).
13. In another pot, fry the caramel color. Note: for this recipe, use "Method 2" from that tutorial—when the sugar syrup forms dense small bubbles, quickly add Pack B (ginger, scallion whites, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves) to release their aroma.
14. Once fragrant (within about 5-10 seconds), don't add boiling water yet; immediately add the blanched `pork belly` and stir-fry over `high heat` so the pieces are evenly coated in caramel and render some fat. When you smell the pork, pour in boiling water to cover all the meat, cover the pot and simmer over medium-low heat for 50-60 minutes (40 minutes in a pressure cooker).
15. Add 10 ml cooking wine.
16. Cover and bring to a boil; then every 25 minutes, open the lid and skim off the oil and foam floating on the surface.
17. When the liquid has reduced to 3/5 of the height from the pot bottom to the top of the meat, switch to medium heat, remove all supporting ingredients except the meat and liquid, and begin reducing the sauce.
18. With the lid off, when the sauce is almost gone and sticky, take it off the heat (never let it dry out completely).