The authentic Mao's Braised Pork Recipe
Ma-style braised pork Roujiamo Also known as Ma's roujiamo, it is a complete and flavorful dish from Han cuisine, belonging to the Xiang cuisine system.
In early days, Mao Zedong could eat soy sauce in his meals.Soy sauce was allowed in his meals. Later, seeing unsanitary conditions during soy sauce production, he stopped using soy sauce.
Therefore, Ma's braised pork uses pork belly as the main ingredient, with white sugar and cooking wine as seasonings without adding soy sauce. The finished dish has a golden color, tender and not greasy.
Main ingredients
1000 grams of pork belly
Auxiliary materials
30 grams of white sugar 10 grams of plant oil 20 grams of cooking wine 2 small pieces of cinnamon 10 grams of ginger strips 10 grams of scallion strips A kettle of boiling water 4 cloves of star anise 10 grams of salt 5 grams of chicken essence Proper method for making authentic Ma's braised pork 1. Rinse the pork belly with cold water, then cut it into 7-8 cm cubes and ensure uniform size! 2. Put the meat pieces in a pot filled with cold water; make sure to use cold water when cooking meat, boil until boiling, then stir with chopsticks on all sides for even heating, cook for 20-25 minutes or until easily pierced by a toothpick!
3. Heat some plant oil in a pan; it's better to use a non-stick pan as precautionary measures against splatter. Fry the meat until golden brown and slightly shrunk to about 5-6 cm cubes, then remove from heat and set aside.
The rendered oil can be collected in a small bowl for future cooking use!
4. Fry the sugar in another pot over low heat; add water as needed and stir continuously until it turns golden yellow and slightly translucent!
This step is critical to the success of the dish, requiring skill and experience.5. Add scallion strips, ginger strips, cinnamon sticks, and star anise to the pan and fry until fragrant!
6. Pour the sugar mixture over the meat, stir well, then add boiling water a little at a time while maintaining constant bubbling in the pot. Use a slow cooker for convenience; pour in just enough boiling water to barely cover the meat, followed by cooking wine equal in amount to the sugar!
Simmer over low heat for an hour, flipping the meat occasionally no more than 3 times.Do not add salt too early as it can make the lean part tough! Add salt after an hour of simmering and stir a few times; then add chicken essence or MSG before removing from heat! 7. The dish comes out with bright red color, tender meat, and not greasy!
Enjoy your homemade masterpiece now! Garnish the finished dish with some chopped cilantro for added visual appeal!！！Cooking tips！！！
The key to this dish lies in frying the meat and caramelizing the sugar; mastering the latter is particularly challenging, requiring experience.
Be cautious when frying as splatters can cause burns.
Select high-quality pork belly with balanced fat and lean portions for best results!
10.Although simple in ingredients, the process requires patience and effort but will definitely be rewarding if done carefully! Add a little hot water, place the meat in the sandpot, pour the remaining soup into the sandpot bit by bit until it covers the meat blocks, then add an equal amount of cooking wine! Cook on low heat for about one hour, flip the meat no more than three times during this time!
11. Do not add salt too early or it might be hard to taste.Lean meat If the meat gets too tough, add salt and stir a few times after an hour of cooking, then continue for another 45 minutes before adding chicken stock powder or MSG！Serve!
12. The cooked meat should have a fresh color, be tender, and not greasy. Come enjoy your hard work!13. Garnish the meat with some coriander leaves to enhance its appearance!
Cooking Tips
The key to this dish is searing the meat and making caramelized syrup, especially making the syrup which requires a lot of experience! Be careful when searing the meat to avoid burns! Select high-quality five-spice pork with an even mix of fat and lean meat! Although the ingredients are simple, this dish is quite challenging but definitely achievable with effort!
