Chapter 1088: Chapter 445: Two Pieces of Braised Pork Belly Cured Director Zeng’s Body Image Anxiety!
Lin Xu placed several large pieces of firm pork belly on the workbench, with the skin facing up, then grabbed a portable blowtorch and began scorching the pork skin.
Scorching the skin is essential for cooking meat, especially for stewed dishes that aren’t fried.
When making Braised Pork Belly, this step is indispensable. The pork skin needs to be scorched with a blowtorch, burning it black, and removing hair stubbles and sweat glands, while completely burning out impurities from the pores.
Besides using a portable blowtorch, you can also scorch it over the stovetop, or directly heat a cast iron pot and place the pork skin on the bottom to sear it.
Ultimately, regardless of the method, the goal is to scorch the pork meat black.
The blacker the pork skin, the more thoroughly it’s scorched, and it’ll be easier to clean later.
After scorching the pork skin, soak it in warm water, then use a clean steel wool or brush to scrub the skin clean.
Next, place the whole piece into a pot, add plenty of water, along with Scallion and Ginger, and Rice Wine. Bring it to a boil on high heat and skim off the foam, then continue to cook for forty minutes.
"Boss, weren’t we supposed to make Braised Pork Belly this afternoon? Are you preparing the meat now?"
Char Tsai was somewhat curious, seeing Lin Xu simmering the meat in the pot and thinking they would eat Braised Pork Belly for lunch today.
Lin Xu replied:
"Just pre-cooking it for setting the shape; it will be officially prepared in the afternoon."
This dish needs to be made into large square chunks with a smooth surface to look appealing. However, during cooking, the lean meat and fascia tend to twitch and contract, causing the chunks to twist and deform.
Some people make this dish and wonder why the originally tidy meat ends up all crooked, with the pork belly’s layering no longer uniform, even the neatly cut right angles become askew.
This is caused by the contraction and twisting of the meat chunks.
To solve this, the meat must be pre-cooked, then cut into pieces after. This way it won’t twist during official cooking.
Plus, pre-cooking draws out the blood from the meat, making the flavor purer.
Honestly, Braised Pork Belly isn’t cooked with Sichuan peppercorns or other spices, it’s all about savoring the pure flavor of the meat itself, something other meat dishes don’t possess.
This simple preparation and pure flavor have allowed this dish to survive for millennia without being lost.
Not only has it not been lost, but it has also taken root and blossomed everywhere.
Besides the places where Su Dongpo served as an official, Braised Pork Belly has been incorporated into various regional cuisines, using its techniques.
For example, cooking meat dishes with Rice Wine has some connection to Braised Pork Belly.
Moreover, stewed dishes and braised meats in various places are almost all variations of Braised Pork Belly.
When boiling the meat, don’t cover the pot, this allows the unpleasant odors to escape with the steam.
Once the meat is simmering, Lin Xu took out the steamed bullfrog from the cabinet, and while it’s hot, he deboned it into the plate for Dundun’s meal and poured over some sauce.
Last night, he steamed a piece of Wagyu beef, initially thinking it should be good.
But it was too greasy, the little guy only ate half before attempting to bury it to save for later.
Since it’s not preferred, today they return to the usual, eating bullfrog.
As soon as the bullfrog cooled enough to handle, Lin Xu brought it downstairs, where Dundun was playing with Shu Yun, and immediately bounced over, diving into the plate before it was set down.
"Eating like this sure saves a lot on living expenses."
Lin Xu thought of trying some uncommonly seen meats for Dundun next time, to avoid anyone saying he was skimping on its living costs, especially considering the little fellow earned a seven-figure living expense at the last car show.
That amount is enough for it to live lavishly for a lifetime.
Shu Yun bent over and watched Dundun devour the meat, saying:
"I read online that cats should eat more organs, maybe we should feed it ingredients like chicken liver and chicken hearts?"
Lin Xu was aware of this:
"It can increase taurine, helping the heart to be more active... I’ll ask Lao Huang to bring some along with the groceries next time, occasionally enhance Dundun’s life, and maybe buy some premium sea fish for it to try, see if it likes them."
Hearing about food, Dundun, who was eating bullfrog meat, let out a satisfied grunt.
Clearly, it was quite pleased with the arrangement.
Returning upstairs, Lin Xu got back to work.
After forty minutes, Lin Xu took a chopstick and easily inserted it into the simmering meat, pulled it out, and found no blood coming out—this was a sign the pork was well-cooked.
Using a meat hook, he fished them out and laid them on the chopping board.
When put into the pot, these pieces were flat and uniform, but after cooking, they had undergone significant changes.
The pork belly, initially uniform in thickness, now had parts that were half the thickness of when raw, while other parts had gathered into a mass, appearing to be around ten centimeters.
This is why pre-cooking is needed—to have the meat deform beforehand, so when stewing, the skin would be smooth, the chunks uniform, and the thickness consistent.
He picked up the cleaver and neatly trimmed the four edges of the pork.
Then he flipped the pork over, with the skin facing down, horizontally slicing the lean part to make the thickness even.
With these adjustments, the pork belly became flat once again, and the previously uneven pork skin turned much more uniform.
After reforming all the large pieces, he placed them in a tray to cool, ready to be used for cooking in the afternoon.
The trimmed bits weren’t discarded. Lin Xusheng put them into a small bowl and handed them to Ma Zhiqiang, who was responsible for the staff lunch:
"Mix them into the stew for lunch."
"Alright... This meat is good, the resulting stew will definitely be delicious."
