Braised Pork in a Pot

Braised Pork in a Pot

　　Features: The meat is dark red in color, full of rich flavor, tender, juicy, and not greasy. It is a traditional delicacy that is popular among the elderly and children.

　　The Chengde region has abundant wildlife resources. In ancient times, local people largely relied on hunting for their livelihood. Braised Pork in a Pot was a way they prepared wild game—this method retained the original flavor of the broth while ensuring the meat was thoroughly cooked and tender. As a result, it became one of the traditional ways of consuming meat in the Chengde area.

　　Before the Manchu people came to power, they were also a hunting-based tribe. Cooking various meats in a pot was a traditional dietary practice among the Manchus. Legend has it that when Prince Regent Dorgon stayed at the Kalahe Tun Palace in Chengde, he often hunted wild boar, Mongolian gazelle, roe deer, and deer, and would prepare them using the pot-braising method.

　　From the late Qing Dynasty to the early years of the Republic of China, this cooking method was inherited and further developed. The famous restaurant Guangdelou at the time specialized in small pots of braised pork. The cooking technique was refined, and the flavor was rich and aromatic. Later, the types of meat used for braising expanded from wild game to include poultry and livestock.

　　Cooking Method

　　[Ingredients] 5,000g premium streaky pork, 1,500g soy sauce, ginger, prickly ash water, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and an appropriate amount of sugar.

　　[Process]

　　(1) Cut the meat into corrugated pieces and marinate them in soy sauce mixed with ginger, prickly ash water, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. Place the marinated meat into a pot, cover with stock so the meat is submerged, then add cooking wine, salt, and sugar. Put a small bowl on top of the pot opening, with a little millet and water inside the bowl.

　　(2) Place the pot over high heat until the broth comes to a boil, then simmer over low heat. After one hour, switch to very low heat and continue stewing. Repeat this process for 4 to 5 hours, until the millet in the small bowl on the pot opening becomes porridge-like. The dish is then ready.