Hong shao — red braising — is the Chinese technique of long-braising meat in a dark, sweet, aromatic soy-based liquid (the master sauce: soy, Shaoxing wine, rock sugar, star anise, cassia bark, dried tangerine peel, Sichuan pepper) until the collagen converts to gelatin and the surface of the meat becomes lacquered with the concentrated braising liquid. The master sauce is a living preparation — it improves with repeated use as the proteins, fats, and aromatic compounds from every new addition accumulate.
- **The master sauce:** Soy sauce (dark and light combined), Shaoxing wine, rock sugar, star anise (2–3), cassia bark, dried tangerine peel, Sichuan pepper, scallion, ginger. Simmered together briefly before the protein is added. - **Dark vs light soy:** Dark soy (thicker, maltose-sweetened, less salt) for colour; light soy (thinner, higher salt, stronger flavour) for seasoning. Both are used in master sauce. - **Rock sugar:** Produces a different caramelisation than refined sugar — the glucose and fructose mixture in rock sugar caramelises at a lower temperature, producing the characteristic glossy coat. - **Blanching the meat first:** Pork belly, pork trotters, beef brisket — all blanched in boiling water for 5 minutes before red braising. The blanching removes blood, impurities, and excess fat. - **The braise:** At the gentlest simmer — 2–4 hours depending on the cut. - **The reduction:** In the final 15 minutes, the heat is raised and the sauce is reduced with the meat turning in it — the sauce becomes a lacquer. Decisive moment: The lacquering stage — when the sauce has reduced enough to coat the meat heavily and the rock sugar has caramelised onto the surface. The meat should have a sheen approaching lacquerware — deep reddish-brown, glossy.
China: The Cookbook