Shanghai red-cooked pork

Serves 6-8

Called hong shao rou in Mandarin, this is a classic dish that bears all the hallmarks of the Eastern School. Glistening from the combination of caramelised sugar and the region’s famed soy sauce, this sumptuous pork is similar in flavour to the legendary Dongpo pork. Named for the reddish hue that develops during the long cooking process, this rich dish can feature additions such as tofu knots, boiled eggs, salted fish and reconstituted cuttlefish. Some cooks also like to embellish it with ginger, spring onions and star anise.

I don’t remember when I first learnt how to make this magnificent dish – probably during the time I was learning Mandarin – but I was reminded of its beauty when I spent a glorious evening with friends Janice Leung Hayes and Charmaine Mok at Zhejiang Heen in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district. As this is a fairly hearty dish, I recommend serving it with something light such as stir-fried greens. This is a very forgiving dish – if you prefer a sweeter flavour, add more sugar; if you like your food salty, add more soy sauce.

800 g (1 lb 12 oz) lean belly pork, skin on

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon crushed rock sugar (see Note) or caster (superfine) sugar

125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) Shaoxing rice wine

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

Cut the pork into 2–3 cm (1 inch) cubes. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the pork and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the meat under cold running water.

Heat the oil and sugar in a wok over medium heat and stir-fry until the sugar turns amber. Add the pork, reduce the heat to low and continue to stir-fry until the sugar has coated the meat.

Add the Shaoxing, soy sauces and 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and simmer for 50–60 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the meat from catching and adding more water if necessary.

When the pork is cooked to your liking, remove the lid, increase the heat and boil rapidly, stirring, to reduce the sauce to a glossy consistency. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with steamed rice and stir-fried greens.

Note Rock sugar is available from Asian grocers. It needs to be crushed before using; the best way to do this is to put it in a snaplock bag and whack it with a meat mallet.