There can be no doubting Australians love Asian food, and as Adam Liaw argues in his new book, it’s also one of the most deceptively easy cuisines to recreate at home.
Liaw, the former MasterChef contestant turned television presenter, author and columnist, has just released Asian Home Cooking, a hefty 400-plus-page tome designed to serve as an essential resource for Aussie kitchens.
It includes more than 200 recipes drawn from 28 regions, though these are not the “hero” dishes so many of us are familiar with but rather everyday meals that celebrate the way people across Asia actually cook and eat at home.
Here Liaw shares one of his favourite recipes from the book.
Shanghai red-braised pork
Hongshao rou, or red-braised pork, is one of the most popular dishes in China. Most regions have their own version, incorporating different cooking methods or aromatics, which results in variation in the texture of the pork and the sauce. In Hunan, for example, the dish is less sweet. Hangzhou’s famous Dongpo pork is named for the Song Dynasty poet and is prepared slightly more elaborately, with additional steps of blanching and steaming.
The name “red-braised” comes from the use of soy sauce and sugar, which gives the meat a deep red colour. This dish is also characterised by its liberal use of Shaoxing wine and the heavily reduced rich and glossy sauce, a signature of Shanghai’s Benbang cuisine.
Serves 6-8
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1.5kg boneless pork belly, trimmed and cut into 4cm cubes
4cm piece ginger, peeled and bruised
3 spring onions, tied in a knot
½ Shaoxing wine
⅓ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup dark soy sauce
3 tbsp crystal sugar plus 1½ tbsp sugar, or 3 tbsp sugar
salt, to season
Heat a wok or large saucepan over high heat and add the oil.
Fry the pork until lightly browned, then add the ginger and spring onion and fry for a few more minutes until fragrant. Add the wine and bring to a simmer, then add the soy sauces, sugar and about 2 cups of water. Season with a little salt, but take care not to add too much as the sauce will reduce and become saltier later. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour.
Remove the lid and simmer for a further 20-30 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced and glossy. If the sauce is not reducing quickly enough, I find it helpful to remove the meat from the pot with a strainer (when it is tender), reduce the sauce only until very thick, then return the meat and stir it through the sauce. Remove the ginger and spring onion and serve.