Hong Shao Rou (Red-Braised Pork Belly)

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The completed preparation of red-braised pork belly — the most celebrated of all red-braised preparations, common across central and eastern China in multiple regional variations. In the Jiangnan version (Shanghai-Hangzhou): sweet-forward, with rock sugar prominent. In the Hunan version (Mao's red pork): more complex, with dried chilli and fermented black bean. In the Sichuan version: doubanjiang and Sichuan pepper alongside the standard braise components. All versions share the same technique and the same essential achievement: pork belly with a lacquered, glossy exterior and a meltingly yielding interior where the fat layer is fully rendered to a trembling, rich softness.

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