Octopus Braised Pork
Overview
Darling didn't like meat and wanted to have a land and sea dinner during the festival, so he secretly made braised octopus. Darling frowned and said it was a fraud, but he still ate it all. I made it for my family during the Mid-Autumn Festival and it was all gone. I had a similar dish when I went to Yantai on a business trip. It was a dish made in a rustic way but with a rich flavor. Since it is a holiday family dinner, it needs to be more elaborate, so I modified it according to my own secret braised pork method, which makes it more fragrant and richer. The pork belly is red meat, paired with chilled octopus. When braised, it is tender and fragrant, and the octopus meat is also extremely soft. You just consume too much cholesterol, so it’s delicious but don’t be greedy!
Tags
Ingredients
Steps
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Wash the octopus, rub a little salt on the surface to remove the mucus and the suction cups on the octopus's feet, then cut it into half-finger-long sections with a knife
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Add a little cooking wine or white wine to the boiling water, blanch the octopus, take it out and set aside
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Cut the pork belly into pieces about the same size as the blanched octopus, cut the ginger into large pieces, and cut the green onion and fresh red pepper into large pieces
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Add two tablespoons of oil to a hot pan, add ginger slices and chili segments and fry until fragrant
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Put the pork belly into the pot and stir-fry over high heat until the surface turns white
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Then add scallions, aniseed/star anise, cloves and sugar and start frying the sugar color
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After coloring, add a mixture of pepper, two types of soy sauce, oyster sauce and two tablespoons of wine (cooking wine or white wine), stir-fry evenly
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After the color turns bright red and the sauce begins to thicken, pour the boiling water prepared in advance into the pot and bring to a boil over high heat
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After the water boils, skim off the foam, turn to low heat, cover the pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes
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After 15-20 minutes, put the octopus meat into the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat, cover the pot and simmer for 40 minutes.
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Don't be afraid of taking a long time, so that the fat in the pork can be forced out, and the octopus meat will change from crispy to soft and tender.
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Thicken the soup and dry it up. At this time, the pork belly will melt in your mouth and the octopus meat will be soft. Be careful not to add any more salt or other seasonings.
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Before putting it on the plate and serving it, you can add a little bit of oil to the pot to brighten it up. I used homemade scallion oil (chop green onion + onion + ginger + garlic and pour it slowly with hot oil. After it cools down, it becomes very delicious scallion oil)
