Shanghai Style Braised Chili Pork
Servings: 6
Sweet, salty, and spicy – three of my favourite flavour profiles are combined in this Shanghai Style Braised Chili Pork recipe to create a wonderfully, tasty dish which comes together easily and effortlessly. This dish is the epitome of bang for your buck!
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Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork, cut into 1 inch pieces*
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 6 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 cup green onions, cut into 1 inch peices
- 10 whole dried chilies**
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, optional
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, add the oil and sugar. Stir continuously for 5 minutes until the sugar is mostly dissolved into the oil.
- Add the pork and stir. Allow the pork to cook until lightly browned - about 10 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce, vinegar, and water. Stir to combine. Cover the skillet with a tight lid and reduce the heat to simmer. Allow the pork to simmer for 60 minutes - check every 10 minutes or so to make sure the skillet doesn't dry out and the pork doesn't burn.
- If you find the skillet is getting too dry, add 1/4 cup of water, but if you're close to the one hour mark, do not add the water.
- Remove the lid and turn the heat back to medium. Add the chilies (whole or crushed) and stir into the pork. At this point, you will want to brown the meat so keep an eye on it. It's already cooked, so now you're paying attention to the texture and look of the dish.
- When the pork has browned to your liking, add the green onions and half of the sesame seeds (if using.)
- Toss to coat everything well. Turn off the heat and allow the dish to rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve with steamed white rice or veggies and garnish with chopped green onions, dried chilies, and sesame seeds.
Notes
*Use a fatty cut of pork for best results. This recipe works well with thick cut pork chops, pork belly, or pork butt.
**The whole dried chilies can be replaced with dried chili flakes. Just use as much as you want in terms of how hot you want the dish to be. If you use the whole dried chilies, you can place them in whole or smash a few of them and add them in addition to remaining whole chilies. Suit your own personal tastes with the heat level.
**The whole dried chilies can be replaced with dried chili flakes. Just use as much as you want in terms of how hot you want the dish to be. If you use the whole dried chilies, you can place them in whole or smash a few of them and add them in addition to remaining whole chilies. Suit your own personal tastes with the heat level.