Braised Caramel Pork

The secret of this dish is cooking it low and slow until the pork is so tender that the meat and pork fat is so soft it.

Warning: This dish will make you eat a lot of rice! :-) Enjoy!

Taken from Yummy Magazine January/ February 2011 page 37.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 kilo pork belly, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 medium red onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/4 cup light soy sauce

3/4 cup panocha (for this instance, I used brown sugar)

1 cup water

1 tbsp fish sauce

3 pieces star anise

1 tsp five-spice powder

8 shitake mushrooms, sliced into strips

1/2 cup green onions, divided

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. Add 1/3 of the pork and sear for 5 minutes or until brown all over. Reapt with the remaining pork. Set aside.

2. In the same pan, saute onions until translucent.

3. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

4. Add pork, soy sauce, brown sugar, water, fish sauce, star anise and five-spice powder.

5. Mix well and bring to a boil.

6. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours or until pork is very tender and sauce has thickened.

7. Add mushrooms and 1/4 of the chopped green onions. Mix well and continue to cook for another 10 mins.

8. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper

9. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with remaining green onions.