Your favorite version of 红烧肉?

[贝恩睿]

哥儿们好

 

So I'm going to cook 红烧肉 later this week and I'm searching for the best recipes out there, but there are way too many of them. Some are suggesting you boil the meat before doing anything else, some say braise it right away. Some uses 冰糖, some replace it with Sprite (yup, it's true). What version do you find most delicious?

[Mindmaxd]

Use 冰糖 is better than common 白糖，but don't put too many,well if you like sweet flavor you can put more,Choose meat is very important,肥瘦分层带皮 is the best one。

[abcdefg]

Choose meat is very important,肥瘦分层带皮 is the best one。

 

Isn't that just 五花肉, which is what one always uses for 红烧肉？

 

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For the Original Poster: I usually rinse the meat before cutting it up. (Remember I am cooking this in Kunming, not in Sweden.)

 

Then I quickly drop it in boiling water, simmering it briefly. Dry the meat, cut it up, and continue with the braising recipe. This fast parboil is called 汆. It produces tender texture with a shorter braising time.

 

Would add that I usually make it when the weather is cold.

 

Here's a good discussion of different techniques: http://redcook.net/

The Fuscia Dunlop version is a classic. Here it is: http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/Revolutionary+Chinese+Cookbook/Chairman+Mao*27s+Red-Braised+Pork+%28Mao+Shi+Hong+Shao+Rou%29

[Mindmaxd]

Yeah it is 五花肉，what I said is one kind of 五花肉，that kind is the good one to cook 红烧肉

[Mindmaxd]

汆 mainly in order to clean the meat's blood and dirty things,I general use 冷水，before 汆 meat I usually put the meat in 冷水 for about 15~30 mins,you will find the water change into red,some blood out,and then put the meat into wok with 冷水 and open fire 汆 meat again.

[abcdefg]

I never tried soaking it in cold water first. Maybe I'll do that next time. It makes sense.

 

Guess I don't understand what you mean by 肥瘦分层带皮。Is this just 五花肉 with the skin still attached? (I usually get it without the skin.) Or is it a special part of the pork belly? (pork belly = 猪腹部的肉) Is it something the butcher will know about? 

[Vivi MENG]

Just to point out that it should be 哥们儿好 instead of 哥儿们好。

[abcdefg]

Just to point out that it should be 哥们儿好 instead of 哥儿们好。

 

Vivi, what am i missing here? Is this about how to cook 红烧肉?

[Vivi MENG]

 

 

Vivi, what am i missing here? Is this about how to cook 红烧肉?

Yes, of course. As I said, I just want to correct a minor language mistake made by 贝思睿。I love 红烧肉，but I don't know how to cook it well. So I just past that. 

[贝恩睿]

That was just a silly mistake of mine!

 

Thanks for all the tips btw, keep em coming!

[Demonic_Duck]

Just to point out that it should be 哥们儿好 instead of 哥儿们好。

 

http://music.baidu.com/song/249704?fm=altg3

 

Admittedly he also uses such choice pieces of 儿化音 as "难得儿" "够了儿" though... seems like it's a Taiwan thing O_o

 

Re: 红烧肉, 'fraid I don't know how to cook it, just how to eat it.

[ChTTay]

My girlfriend (Chinese) usually cooks it first by simmering it in water until it looks cooked-ish. After that, adds spices and whatever to the wok/pan. Browns the meat. Throws in a few "glugs" of a bottle "hong shao rou" sauce (in a soy sauce kind of bottle - pre-made so you actually don't need to add anything else if you don't want to or don't know). Then just braises the meat, sweats the sauce down, if the sauce gets too thick too fast, add some water.

Always tastes good to me!

[Vivi MENG]

 

 

Admittedly he also uses such choice pieces of 儿化音 as "难得儿" "够了儿" though... seems like it's a Taiwan thing O_o

。。。。。。This is not the only time that Taiwan singers or actors got wrong about using 儿化音。难得儿 and 够了儿 don't make sense at all. Nobody would speak like that except Taiwanese I think.   

[陳德聰]

I use this recipe: http://www.haodou.com/recipe/256515
 

I find it easy and still tasty Though when I am having a sweet tooth kind of day I usually add a tiiiny bit more brown sugar.

[bad_dream_house]

This may sound like a strange recommendation but....

 

Delia Smith had a recipe for Hong Shao Rou that tasted spot on

 

It was on one of those Waitrose cards and was seriously decent

[abcdefg]

The ginger ale in #14 was a surprise. I never tried using 红糖 brown sugar, like the 好豆 recipe called for, but it sounds good.

[anonymoose]

I had 红烧肉 in Hangzhou in 快乐外婆家 restaurant last month. I don't usually like eating 红烧肉 because in most restaurants it is not cooked very well, or there is too much fat and not enough meat. But the stuff at that restaurant in Hangzhou was absolutely spot on, and at a reasonable price. I was bursting by the time I had finished that.

[abcdefg]

@anonymoose, I was in Hangzhou last month too, and early one evening, in the hills of 龙井村 where I had been looking for 明前西湖龙井茶叶 I had 东坡肉 Dongpo Rou, which was exquisite. It's a similar slow-cooked pork belly meat dish.

 

I had read before the trip that it was a regional specialty, and so when I saw it handwritten on a chalk and blackboard menu, I jumped for it. Had no idea anything could be so full of flavor. It was my first time having it.

 

外婆家 is a famous restaurant. I wanted to go there, but didn't make it. Glad to hear that it measured up.

[陳德聰]

@abcdefg

 

Be careful!! It's not ginger ale!!! It's ginger juice, as in what you get when you grind up ginger! I just chop it really finely and mush it into liquid, getting rid of the pulp.

[abcdefg]

Oh, I misunderstood about it being ginger ale, 陳德聰。Thanks for clarifying that.

 

After all this discussion and re-reading some recipes, I'm going to have to make 红烧肉 again even though it's a rather heavy dish and it's already summer in Kunming. Maybe this weekend.

 

It's something I have made before when having dinner guests. The big plus is that it can be made the day before and reheated. Actually improves when made ahead like that.