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ChinesePopular & ClassicPorkRecipes

Braised Pork Belly

written by Emma Tang

Braised Pork BellyPork belly lovers, today is your lucky day! I am sharing the recipe of one of the most popular pork belly dishes in China, the braised pork belly.

It has a perfectly balanced sweet and savory flavor. The texture of the slow-cooked pork is soft and could almost melt in your mouth. My mouth is literally watering as I am writing about this dish right now.

Start with ingredients, I used about a pound of pork belly and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Besides the pork belly, I also prepared ginger, star anise, bay leaves, rock sugar, dried chili peppers and seasoning sauce in advance.

Braised Pork Belly IngredientsIn the recipe “Sugar-brasied chicken wings“, I introduced what is rock sugar. It is commonly used in Chinese cooking and can be easily found in Asian grocery stores. It looks like a crystal rock and tastes slightly less sweet than the cane sugar. If you can’t find rock sugar, it is perfectly fine to use cane sugar to make this dish.

The first step is to pan fry the pork belly. I used a non-stick pan and didn’t add any oil. Because I know pork belly will release a lot of fat later when cooking.

Braised Pork BellyWhen the pork belly has browned, I added the sugar into the pan first and waited until the sugar has melted before adding everything else into the pan for stir-frying. After that, I moved the dish into a clay pot to get ready for braising. I added water into the clay pot and braised the pork belly for about a hour until the sauce has thickened.

Sugar Braised Pork Belly-4The pork belly in this dish is tender and full of flavor. I like to top with some toasted sesame seed when serving this dish. 

Sugar Braised Pork Belly RecipeBelow is how I made this dish step-by-step. The total time needed is about 60 minutes!How to make Braised Pork BellyI hope you enjoy making this mouth-watering braised pork belly at home. If you like this recipe, please leave a rating and share it with your friends!

4.6 from 16 reviews
Braised Pork Belly
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
60 mins
Total time
1 hour 10 mins
 
Author: Spice the Plate
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 0.8 pound pork belly with skin, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon rock sugar or cane sugar
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 2 star anise
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1-2 dried chili pepper, optional
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1 touch of toasted white sesame seeds for topping
  • For the sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon cooking wine
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
Instructions
  1. Mix cooking wine, soy sauce and dark soy sauce in a container for later use.
  2. Heat a non-stick pan, stir in the pork belly, pan fry under medium-low heat for about 5 minutes until browned, stir occasionally.
  3. Toss in the sugar, carefully stir to help the sugar melt, add in the ginger, star anise, bay leaves and dried chili pepper, sitr fry for about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Carefully pour in the sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
  5. Move all the ingredients into a clay pot or a slow cooker, add in the hot water and simmer for about 50 minutes under medium-low heat until the sauce has almost gone.
  6. Top with the toasted white sesame seeds and serve.
Notes
We don't need to use any oil when making this dish because there would be a lot of fat coming out from the pork belly.

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54 comments

brian little March 9, 2016 - 7:10 am

I love pork belly and this looks awesome- A definite try out as soon as I can. Rated on looks alone

Reply
Han Tang April 26, 2016 - 8:53 pm

Thanks for the support, appreciated!

Reply
Skate February 5, 2018 - 4:49 pm

Tried this last night. Really authentic. Loved it. Have signed up for MORE recipes. Thank you.

Reply
Paul Dobson June 23, 2019 - 2:07 am

Hi, I have cooked this recipe five or six times now! It gets better every time I do it, I cook it in a wok only, no clay pot, it seems too work well ,the dish always goes down well with any one who tries it. Thank you very much for a brilliant recipe. Regards Paul.

Reply
Rachael April 3, 2020 - 6:21 pm

Thanks for the wok tip I was thinking oh I don’t have a clay pot or slow cooker!

Emma Tang May 2, 2020 - 2:02 pm

No problem, glad you find it helpful!

Lee March 2, 2021 - 9:46 pm

White or red cooking wine?

Reply
Emma Tang March 10, 2021 - 1:06 pm

I generally use white cooking wine 🙂

Reply
Lee March 23, 2021 - 5:42 am

😊

Anonymous July 7, 2020 - 7:56 am

try replacing the water with your favorite beer for added depth to the flavor

Reply
Becky November 14, 2016 - 11:59 am

What can you use in place of a clay pot? Does it go in the oven, or cook on the stove top?

I mistakenly bought 7 lbs of pork belly thinking it was bacon.This looks like a great recipe to try.

Reply
Han Tang November 14, 2016 - 6:41 pm

Hi Becky,
Ceramic pot or dutch oven are both great alternatives! I normally cook this dish on stove top.
Here are other pork belly recipes you might find useful as well:
Twice-Cooked Pork Belly
Braised Pork Belly Over Rice
Pork Belly and Kimchi
Korean Style Pan-fried Pork Belly
Enjoy cooking pork belly!

Reply
Anonymous October 7, 2020 - 10:35 am

If you dont have a Claypot, turn the fire/stove lower and put on the lid for the non-stick pan.

Reply
Melissa Doyle December 11, 2017 - 4:01 pm

This looks great. My mother is on her toes to try this NOW. Hope she makes it with perfection. Han, my mom is a big fan of yours 🙂

Reply
Han Tang December 11, 2017 - 4:48 pm

My pleasure! 🙂

Reply
Erna Lorenz December 12, 2017 - 2:09 pm

This was amazing. The taste is beyond imagination. It was tenderer than butter and full of captivating aroma. Finger lickin goood 😉

Reply
Han Tang December 12, 2017 - 3:49 pm

🙂

Reply
Mai March 17, 2018 - 12:45 pm

If I double the amount of pork belly do I double the rest of the recipe? Thank you

Reply
Han Tang March 19, 2018 - 12:19 pm

Hi Mai,

Yes, that’s a good idea. 🙂

Reply
John Venable March 21, 2018 - 6:49 am

The first time I fixed this it tasted wonderful and following recipe was easy, but the saying to much of a good thing can be bad isn’t far off. The second time I prepared this for a group of people, so I multiplied the recipe by five. The end result did not turn out so well.

Reply
Han Tang March 21, 2018 - 9:40 am

Hi John,

I am sorry to hear that. Could you describe why you don’t like the end result when cooking for a group of people? Was it too salty? Too sweet? Took too long to boil down?

I would love to help! What I normally do when I am modifying or multiply a recipe is to do taste test while cooking. If is too sweet, then I add a little more salt until it tastes right to me.

I hope this helps!

Reply
Michael Semon May 16, 2021 - 12:57 pm

Being diabetic I substituted monk fruit sweetener for the sugar. I also used hoisin with Worcestershire sauce instead of dark soy. I cooked everything in a deep sided cast iron skillet with a lid and served over long grain white rice. It was fabulous!!!

Reply
TSH_ May 3, 2018 - 3:23 am

Does it necessary need to be rock sugar? Can i replace it with normal sugar, does it affect the result of the taste?

Reply
Han Tang May 3, 2018 - 2:05 pm

Hi there,

The difference between rock sugar and granulated sugar is that the later is slightly more sweet in taste. So feel free to substitute it with granulated sugar. However, I would recommend adjusting the amount a little by tasting while cooking.

Hope it helps!

Reply
Cat May 18, 2018 - 7:46 am

Made today for lunch. Delicious, thank you.

Reply
Han Tang May 18, 2018 - 11:24 am

You are very welcome! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂

Reply
Kitty May 31, 2018 - 4:09 pm

Can i add the same amount of water if cook double portions? Because i will cook in the buffalo smart rice cooker and it doesn’t require a lot of water due to the water doesn’t evaporate much from the cooker.
Thanks

Reply
Han Tang June 1, 2018 - 1:08 am

In that case, I’d suggest using a bit less than double the portions. But it’s hard to decide how much exactly. You’ll have to trust your gut feeling. However, don’t worry if you add more water than it needs. You could always cook longer until the sauce thickens. What you don’t want is adding not enough water and the pork belly is tough or burned. Hope it helps!

Reply
Jen July 12, 2018 - 9:53 pm

Looks delicious, can’t wait to try this recipe 😉

Reply
Han Tang July 12, 2018 - 11:57 pm

🙂

Reply
Jan July 16, 2018 - 2:53 pm

Hi.
So you leave the skin on? Is it not tough and chewy? Thank you
Jan

Reply
Han Tang July 16, 2018 - 4:54 pm

Hi, Jan

Thanks for asking. The skin is actually my favorite part of the dish. Cooked long enough, it won’t be touch but will remain a bit chewy. If you don’t like the skin, it’s completely fine to leave it out 🙂

Reply
Rhodes Abell April 8, 2019 - 11:14 am

Looks great. I’ve often heard of pouring boiling water over pork belly before cooking. Your opinion?
I assume belly without bone?

Reply
Emma Tang May 11, 2019 - 8:56 pm

Hi Rhodes,

Yes, pork belly without bone.

Reply
Eden April 11, 2019 - 6:58 pm

Hi there! I’m currently making this dish (thanks for the recipe) but I was wondering, how come the coloring of the food is so much more vibrant in the photo you have? Did you add a glaze or something on top?

Thank you
Eden

Reply
MAMA DE February 19, 2022 - 3:38 am

Eden, just add in a bit corn flour and it will make your food more vibrant.

Reply
Allison Dodds April 12, 2019 - 9:25 pm

Have made this several times and have enjoyed it every time. It cooked beautifully in the pressure cooker too. Yum!

Reply
Tina Bunnie June 16, 2019 - 7:02 pm

How long did you have to cook in pressure cooker? And did you use less water? In what quantities?

Reply
Thanigaivelan October 30, 2019 - 12:26 am

Pork belly without bone….Wow Love it.!

Reply
Ngim Chin Eng April 3, 2020 - 2:59 am

Delicious and yummy. Thank you very much.

Reply
Ngim Chin Eng April 3, 2020 - 3:01 am

Thank you very much. Couldn’t wait to try this yummy looking dish.

Reply
Rachael April 6, 2020 - 2:05 am

Hi just wondering I was waiting for my partner to come over to cook so I took out of freezer but today was two days so I decided to slice it thick then simmer for ten minutes in water spices garlic ginger etc
I’m hoping I’m ok to now cook this tomorrow but should I marinate it now or just leave it in a container in fridge? Thanks

Reply
Emma Tang May 2, 2020 - 1:59 pm

Sorry for coming across your question just now. Hope you worked out whether to marinate right away or wait overnight!

Reply
Charms Ong April 8, 2020 - 7:54 am

Love your recipe! Very easy to follow and it’s really good. Thank you ❤️

Reply
Emma Tang May 2, 2020 - 1:51 pm

Thank you! It makes me really happy to hear that!

Reply
Arlene May 9, 2020 - 12:19 am

Made this today and hubby loved it ! Thank you for sharing your recipe !

Reply
Nick September 8, 2020 - 6:47 pm

This recipe looks super doable and tasty! Just one quick question — if you do this in a slow cooker, you’d probably just use the “high” setting (since slow cookers don’t get as hot as stoves) and just leave the lid off so the liquid can evaporate?

Reply
Sam November 7, 2020 - 6:12 am

This is great! The pork belly is yummy and the recipe is clear, concise and easy to follow. I don’t have a clay pot or a slow cooker, so I simmered it in a saucepan for two hours and it came out well. Do you have any suggestions for a side to soak up the sauce? (I’m bored of mashed potatoes.)

Reply
Celia Atienza November 13, 2020 - 4:12 am

How long should I cook it in the crockpot slow cooker?

Reply
Robyn March 9, 2021 - 6:48 pm

This dish was amazing, it is the first recipe I have tried from your blog and I cannot wait to try more! Thank you!

Reply
Tiffany Jane March 10, 2021 - 12:53 pm

I love pork belly, in fact, my whole family does! For our family reunion, I had my whole family come over (152 members total.) I made this recipe for them, but there was not enough, for some weird reason, doing the math in my head, I thought it would be enough.:(((( I ended up feeding them to my dogs, and they ate every last bite! I assumed my dogs loved them because they licked the plate, (but did end up eating the plate hahaha.) My kiddos got a little upset so we tried your carrot cake recipe but it turned out as a crispy, creamy, soupy, gooey mess:( We are very upset too, do you have any suggestions. I will be sure to check out Ree Drumsticks recipes as a substitute. Thank you for your time, as we say in Silbelia, (have a creamy good time, my friend:)

Reply
Teacher Robert June 12, 2021 - 3:10 pm

I love this dish!!! I had it in Shanghai at a friend’s house. So it was home made. It was so good!!!! Thank you for the recipe

Reply
Adan Phu October 20, 2021 - 8:27 pm

I just started cooking using this recipe ~20 mins ago. I tried the sauce before adding in the hot water. Insanely delicious and the sauce and the food smell and taste so so so good 😀 🍁 🐓

Reply
Emma Tang April 5, 2022 - 3:46 pm

Glad you liked it!

Reply

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About Me

About Me

Hello!

Welcome to Spice the Plate! I am Emma, the cook and author behind this food blog. Creating and sharing delicious Asian recipes is my passion. Here you can find tasty, easy-to-make traditional and modern Asian recipes, cooking tips, and more. I am excited you've found us! To learn more about me and this blog, visit here.

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