Honey Char Siu
Sticky, caramelised roast pork with honey.
← Home · Shanghai weekend project braised
Hong Shao Rou — Red Braised Pork
Glossy, amber-coloured pork belly, sweet and savoury, braised until it trembles. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 红烧肉, report 161. This is a slow, stovetop braise; allow about two hours.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 红烧肉_161.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 1 hour 45 minutesTotal: 2 hoursServings: 2–3 with riceDifficulty: MediumRegion: ShanghaiFlavour: Sweet-savoury, soy-caramel
Why this works
The original report's logic is threefold: even 3 cm cubes so every piece finishes at the same time, an amber caramel made from rock sugar — not just soy colour — for gloss and clean sweetness, and a long, very low braise that melts the fat without drying the meat. Boiling water, never cold, goes into the pot, because cold water tightens the meat.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pork belly with skin, cut into 3 cm cubes | 12.3 oz raw | 350 g raw | Original: about 280–300 g finished after evaporation. Skin-on is preferred for texture. |
| Rock sugar | 1.8 oz | 50 g | Original prefers rock sugar for clean sweetness and gloss. Granulated sugar works but gives less gloss (adaptation). |
| Dark soy sauce | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | Mainly for colour; the original ratio is dark to light 1:3 by volume in effect (15 ml : 30 ml, with dark used for colour). |
| Light soy sauce | 2 tbsp | 30 ml | — |
| Yellow cooking wine, divided | ⅓ cup | 80 ml | Original: aged Shanghai/Zhejiang yellow wine. Shaoxing wine is the usual substitute; dry sherry in a pinch. |
| Scallion lengths | 0.7 oz | 20 g | — |
| Ginger slices | 0.5 oz | 15 g | 10 g for blanching, the rest for braising, as in the original. |
| Boiling water, for braising | 1⅔ cups | 400 ml | Must be boiling when added — a control point in the original. |
| Neutral cooking oil, for the caramel | 2 tsp | 10 ml | — |
Equipment
- Heavy pot with a tight lid — a Dutch oven is ideal (adaptation; any heavy pot with a lid works)
- Pot for blanching
- Slotted spoon
Steps
- Cut and blanch. Cut the pork belly into even 3 cm cubes. Cover with cold water, add 10 g ginger and 20 ml cooking wine, bring to a boil, skim the foam, and blanch for 3 minutes. Rinse with warm water and drain.
- Make the caramel — the core technique. Heat 10 ml oil in the pot, add the rock sugar, and melt over low heat, stirring, until amber — the original specifies about 160 °C. As soon as it turns deep amber, add the meat immediately; waiting longer makes it bitter.
- Coat and season. Toss the meat for 2 minutes so every cube is coated in caramel. Add the remaining 60 ml cooking wine and cook on high heat for 30 seconds to burn off the alcohol. Add dark and light soy sauces and stir for 1 minute to colour.
- Braise low and slow. Pour in 400 ml boiling water, add the scallions and remaining ginger, bring to a boil, then turn to the lowest heat, cover, and braise for 1.5 hours, keeping the heat steady. The original specifies the centre should stay at or above 85 °C throughout this stage.
- Reduce to a glaze. Uncover and turn to medium-high heat. Reduce for 5–8 minutes, stirring constantly so nothing sticks, until the sauce is thick and clinging and about 100 ml remains. Serve with rice.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Technique: caramel before soy
Colour from caramel, not from extra dark soy, is what gives this dish its red gloss without a harsh salty edge. If the caramel goes past amber to dark brown, start again — bitter caramel cannot be fixed by the braise.
Variations
- Sweeter or less sweet: the original is a sweet-savoury Shanghai style. Reduce the rock sugar by a third for a less sweet result, but expect a paler glaze (adaptation).
- With eggs: add peeled hard-boiled eggs for the last 30 minutes of braising so they absorb the sauce (adaptation, not in the original).
Frequently asked questions
Why must the braising water be boiling?
Cold water makes the meat contract and toughen, according to the original. Boiling water keeps the texture tender.
Can I shorten the braise?
Not in this version. The original method is stovetop-only and the 1.5-hour low braise is what makes the fat melt. No pressure-cooker shortcut is given in the original, so none is claimed here.
Why is my sauce thin?
It was not reduced long enough, or the heat was too low during reduction. Reduce, stirring, until it clings to a spoon.
Storage
Refrigerate up to 3 days; the flavour deepens overnight. Reheat gently until steaming hot throughout. The fat will set on chilling — skim some or stir it back in, to taste.
Hong Shao Rou — Recipe Card
Glossy red braised pork belly with rock sugar.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 1 hour 45 minutesTotal: 2 hoursServings: 2–3 with rice
Ingredients: 350 g pork belly with skin; 50 g rock sugar; 15 ml dark soy sauce; 30 ml light soy sauce; 80 ml yellow cooking wine; 20 g scallions; 15 g ginger; 400 ml boiling water; 10 ml oil.
Steps: 1) Cube pork 3 cm, blanch 3 minutes with ginger and wine, rinse. 2) Caramelise rock sugar to amber, add pork at once. 3) Add wine, soy sauces, stir to colour. 4) Add boiling water, scallions and ginger, braise covered on lowest heat 1.5 hours. 5) Reduce 5–8 minutes to a thick glaze.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Related recipes
Oil-Blast Shrimp
Shrimp flash-fried in hot oil until the shells turn crisp and red, in a lightly sweet, savoury glaze.
Satay Beef with Gai Lan
Tender beef slices in sweet-salty satay sauce, served over crisp gai lan — a quick stir-fry.
Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 红烧肉 (data/reports/161.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. Original poster image: clouchef.com (红烧肉_161.jpeg). The 2–3 serving presentation, Dutch-oven note and egg variation are adaptations and are labelled as such.