Recipe Chairman Mao's red braised pork

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Taken from an article in the Independent on chilies and endorphins http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...the-ultimate-feel-good-ingredient-969617.html

Chairman Mao's red braised pork
Serves 4
Ingredients
500g/1 lb 2 oz belly pork (skin optional)
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
20 g/3/4 oz fresh ginger, skin left on and sliced
1 star anise
2 dried red chillies
a small piece cassia bark or cinnamon stick
light soy sauce
salt and sugar
a few lengths of spring onion greens

Method
Plunge the belly pork into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until partially cooked.
Remove, and when cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized chunks.
Heat the oil and sugar in a wok over a gentle flame until the sugar melts, then raise the heat and stir until the melted sugar turns a rich caramel brown.
Add the pork and the Shaoxing wine.
Add enough water to just cover the pork, along with the ginger, star anise, chillies and cassia.
Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 40–50 minutes.
Towards the end of the cooking time, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce and season with soy sauce, salt and a little sugar to taste.
Add the spring onion greens just before serving.

 

[Delftse Post]

That recipe comes from Fushia Dunlop's book on Hunanese cuisine. I tried making it once, but it didn't really work out that well.

Lots of her recipes call for salted chillis - I've still got a couple of kilner jars of them which I made 5 or so years ago.

 

[Morning Glory]

That recipe comes from Fushia Dunlop's book on Hunanese cuisine. I tried making it once, but it didn't really work out that well.

Lots of her recipes call for salted chillis - I've still got a couple of kilner jars of them which I made 5 or so years ago.

You must tell us about salted chillies!

 

[Delftse Post]

You must tell us about salted chillies!

Lots of chopped up chilli mixed with salt and then left for a couple of weeks. I guess it's a basic preservation technique.

You can use them during cooking or as a condiment.

 

[Corzhens]

I think we had sampled that dish in Beijing, China last January. The way you described the dish with the ingredients, I seem to still taste it in my mouth. From what I remember, the label on the table is Mao Pork so probably that is Chairman Mao's braised pork. The mix of the flavoring particularly the ginger and the spring onion toned down the hotness so the mix would be just right to my taste. But I had spared my husband from that dish because of his acid reflux.

 

[cupcakechef]

Love spicy, chili filled foods - but my nose doesn't! It's like all the spices clear my sinuses or something and then my nose just runs and runs!

 

[L_B]

I love spicy food so reading this recipe really has me intrigued. I have never heard of salted chillies but I
bet they are some tasty. Now I got the craving for something hot.