Red braised pork belly

{{Short description|Chinese braised pork dish}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Red braised pork belly

| image = 紅燒肉 Braised pork in brown sauce.jpg

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| alternate_name = Hong shao rou

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| course = Main course

| place_of_origin = China

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| region = Hunan

| associated_cuisine = Hunan, Shanghai

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| main_ingredient = Pork

| minor_ingredient = Ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chilies, sugar, star anise, light and dark soy sauce, rice wine

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| serving_size = 100 g

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{{Cuisine_of_China}}

Red braised pork belly, or hong shao rou ({{zh|s=红烧肉|t=紅燒肉|p=hóngshāoròu}}), is a classic pork dish from China, red-cooked using pork belly and a combination of ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chilis, sugar, star anise, light and dark soy sauce, and rice wine. The pork belly is cooked until the fat and skin are gelatinous, soft, and melt easily in the mouth, while the sauce is usually thick, sweet and fairly sticky. The dish has a melt-in-the-mouth texture that is formed as a result of a long braising process, during which the liquid reduces and becomes thick. It is generally served with steamed rice and dark green vegetables, often over holidays.{{cite web|website=Asian Cooking Mom|url=https://www.asiancookingmom.com/chinese-style-braised-pork-belly-%e7%ba%a2%e7%83%a7%e8%82%89|title=Chinese-Style Braised Pork Belly (红烧肉)|access-date=25 February 2020|date=22 February 2020}} The dish is often prepared with hard-boiled chicken eggs or vegetables, which are used to soak up the juices from the recipe.{{cite web|last=Dunlop|first=Fuchsia | author-link = Fuchsia Dunlop|url=https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/red-braised-pork-em-hong-shao-rou-em-51147410|title=Red-Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)|website=Epicurious|date=February 2013|access-date=25 February 2020}}

Many Chinese provinces have slightly different variations, but the Hunanese version, often called "Mao's family style red braised pork" ({{zh|s=毛氏红烧肉|t=|p=Máo shì hóngshāoròu|labels=no}}), is often said to have been one of Mao Zedong's favorite dishes, and is served at the many Hunan restaurants across China specializing in so called "Mao-style cuisine".{{cite book|last1=Dunlop|first1=Fuchsia|title=Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province|date=2007 |publisher=W.W. Norton|isbn=9780393062229|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HcLDHAAACAAJ|accessdate=4 October 2016|language=en}} The popularity of the dish has led the Hunan provincial government to codify the recipe of the dish, in particular deciding that only meat of the celebrated Ningxiang breed of pig should be used in authentic hong shao rou.{{cite news|last1=Moore|first1=Malcolm|title=China sets standard for Chairman Mao's favourite dish|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/7102740/China-sets-standard-for-Chairman-Maos-favourite-dish.html|accessdate=4 October 2016|work=Telegraph|date=29 January 2010}}

The Shanghai-style hong shao rou ({{zh|s=上海红烧肉|t=|p=Shànghǎi hóngshāoròu|labels=no}}) is another well-known variation, characterized by a sweeter and glossier sauce due to a higher proportion of rock sugar and a more liberal use of Shaoxing wine.{{Citation | vauthors=((Doobydobap)) | year=2021 | title=Hong Shao Rou 红烧肉 | url=https://doobydobap.com/recipe/hong-shao-rou}}