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Chili Garlic Braised Pork Belly

April 6, 2016 by Jennifer Che 11 Comments

DSC6516.jpg
It was one of those later night at work. Most of the people in the office had already left, but my coworker and I were still there, typing away at our computers.

*click click click*

All of a sudden I heard the beep of the microwave in the kitchen. For good or for bad, my office directly faced the kitchen. All of a sudden, the most incredible smell wafted towards me.

“Mike, what are you cooking there? It smells amazing.”

“It’s pork belly. It’s a really easy recipe. There’s tons of garlic, and a whole jar of chili sauce.”

“an entire jar??!”
DSC6513.jpg
It’s actually not that spicy. My boys love it. Whenever I make it for them, it never lasts.”

He then let me try a bite of the pork belly from his dinner, and I was totally hooked.

“Oh man, you gotta send me this recipe . . .”

That evening, we went our separate ways. I forgot about the dish and he forgot to send me the recipe. More time passed. Within a year, we had both moved onto new jobs. No longer office mates, we lost touch for awhile. And then, just a few months ago, I suddenly remembered that pork belly dish and decided it would be perfect for the Christmas party I was hosting.

I emailed Mike. We reconnected, and I begged for that magical pork belly recipe. I was thrilled when he wrote back the next day with a document attached, full of details for how to make this fantastic and super easy dish.

DSC6506.jpg
Start with fresh pork belly (not frozen). Mike told me he likes to get it at HMart if he can, since he finds their pork belly to be better quality than the ones he gets from the Chinese markets. I trust him on that (he makes this dish A LOT!), and so I headed over to HMart to buy 3-4 lbs of belly.
DSC6507.jpg
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, and then add the pork belly pieces. Your purpose here is to remove any blood or other “dirty” bits that will come out during this boiling process. After cooking for 3-5 minutes, remove the belly and set aside. Dump the water.
DSC6508.jpg
Cut up the belly into 1 inch pieces.
DSC6510.jpg
In another pot or Dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat to high heat. Add garlic cloves and cook until browned and fragrant. Set aside garlic.
DSC6511.jpg
Into the same pot, add the pork belly pieces and sear so that all sides are nicely browned.
DSC5471.jpg
Add a whole jar of Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp. I have included the Amazon link so you can see the photo, but it is horribly expensive online. You can get it for around $2 – $3 a jar at places like HMart, Super88, or any Chinese supermarket. This stuff is key to making this dish taste right. I cannot guarantee that the dish will taste good if you use any other type of chili sauce.
DSC6517.jpg
Stir until well mixed. Add about 1/2 cup of water, or just enough so the pork belly can cook mostly submerged. Bring heat down to medium low, or a simmer and cover. Cook for at least 30 minutes, but preferably an hour.

Chili garlic braised pork belly – recipe coming on the blog soon! #sundaycooking
A video posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Mar 20, 2016 at 12:38pm PDT

Serve!

Definitely eat with rice, since the sauce is very, very flavorful!

Chili Garlic Braised Pork Belly
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Chinese
Author: Jennifer Che from Tiny Urban Kitchen
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 10 mins
Serves: 8 – 12 servings
A spicy and flavorful slow-braised pork belly dish full of chili and lots of garlic.
Ingredients
  • 3-4 lbs fresh pork belly
  • 1 bottle (7.4 oz) of Laoganma “Spicy Chili Crisp” Sauce
  • 1/4 lb garlic cloves (peeled)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot of a water to a boil and boil pork belly for 3-5 minutes.
  2. Remove the pork belly and cut into 1 inch pieces.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over high heat to a large pot or Dutch oven. Add garlic and stir around until fragrant. Remove garlic pieces and set aside.
  4. In the same oil, add back in the pork belly pieces and sear until all sides are nicely browned.
  5. Add in the whole bottle of Spicy Chili Crisp, soy source, and the garlic cloves. Stir around until all ingredients are well mixed.
  6. Adding about half a cup of boiling water to the pot and reduce heat down to medium low/simmer. Cover and let cook for around 1 hour (minimum 30 minutes, but the meat won’t be as soft).
3.3.3077

Enjoy!

Smells magnificent! Chili garlic slow-braised pork belly #potluck #smallgroup #laoganma

A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Dec 21, 2015 at 5:16pm PST

Filed Under: Asian, Chinese, Chinese Recipes, Meat, Pork, Recipe

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Comments

  1. hmucha says

    April 6, 2016 at 1:31 am

    This seems like a natural candidate for Instant Pot. I’m curious why you didn’t use it. Just curious of the thought process of an experienced cook. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Joleen @ Joleen Cuisine says

    April 6, 2016 at 2:27 am

    I am DROOLINGGG…love how simple this recipe is!! Next time I’m at home with my parents I’ll show my dad this recipe!

    Reply
  3. Ted & Soo-Leng says

    April 7, 2016 at 10:26 am

    Good morning, Jen!
    What kind of soy sauce please – light or dark? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jennifer Che says

      April 7, 2016 at 11:36 pm

      I just use the normal Kikkoman one, I guess it’s closer to dark than light!

      Reply
  4. Amy l worthyoursalt says

    April 11, 2016 at 10:54 am

    this sounds and looks amazing! next time I go to H-mart, i’ll stock up on pork belly and lao gan ma chili sauce so that I can try this recipe out.

    Reply
  5. Anonymous says

    April 18, 2016 at 12:23 pm

    It’s like a massive bacon haha. Looks so delicious!

    Reply
  6. Ted and Soo-Leng says

    April 20, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    Good evening, Jen!
    Your recipe calls for a 12-oz jar of Laoganma, whereas the Amazon link shows a 7.41 oz jar. Which is correct? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Jennifer Che says

      April 22, 2016 at 10:35 pm

      Good catch! My apologies, it should be the 7.41 oz jar. I just checked the one in my fridge again. Post has been updated and corrected. THANK YOU!

      Reply
  7. Amy says

    September 2, 2016 at 4:31 am

    Hi. I wanted to give this a try, but just wanted to check on the water quantity. The recipe says to add 1/2 cup of water, which is about 125ml, but it doesn’t seem like much to braise the pork in, and the photo looks like it has more liquid in the finished product. Can you please confirm this for me?
    Many thanks!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      September 2, 2016 at 4:33 am

      Just to add, I know the write up says “Add about 1/2 cup of water, or just enough so the pork belly can cook mostly submerged” but I don’t want to put too much in and dilute the flavour.
      Thanks, again.

      Reply
  8. HK says

    January 2, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    I’ve been following your blog for a while but this is my first time commenting. I absolutely love this recipe! I’ve made it 5+ times and it’s good every time. One time I didn’t have enough garlic cloves and used minced garlic and it turned out great as well. I will usually put in a yellow onion and at the end put in green onions and the flavors of this dish are amazing!

    Reply

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Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
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