Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork belly
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 3/4 inch fresh ginger, skin left on and sliced
• 1 star anise
• 2 dried red chiles
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• Light soy sauce
• Salt
• Sugar
• Handful chopped scallions

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Lower in the pork belly in one piece and cook it for about 3 to 4 minutes, just until the outside begins to firm up. Take the pork out of the pot, leave it to cool briefly, then slice it into bite-sized pieces.
2. Set a wok or large pot over medium-low heat and add the oil. Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until it melts. Increase the heat to medium and keep cooking until the melted sugar deepens to a dark caramel color.
3. Add the pork, followed by a splash of the wine, and stir everything together. Pour in just enough water to barely cover the meat, then add the ginger, star anise, chiles, and cinnamon. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil, then lower it to a gentle simmer and cook for 40 minutes.
4. Increase the heat to medium, then season the pork with a drizzle of soy sauce and a little salt and sugar to taste.