Chapter 14 Hunan Style Braised Pork

In addition to eating braised pork, Hunan people also like to eat braised pork with a lot of fat.Braised pork is found in every family of Hunan people, and it is written in family recipes as a common dish by Hunan people. There are many ways to cook pork in Hunan. Every small place has its own way, and some families also have family way.However, it can be roughly divided into two types: one is to put shredded radish on the bottom of the bowl of steamed meat, called shredded radish button meat; the other is to put preserved vegetables on the bottom of the bowl, called Mei Cai button meat.These two kinds of braised pork are probably divided by rural areas and cities. There is no shredded radish in the city, but preserved vegetables from the countryside are popular, so they use preserved vegetables to steam the pork; I eat plum vegetables, but I like to mix the dried shredded radish with rice noodles and steam it with rice noodles or braised pork. I think it is delicious.

I grew up in the countryside, and I fell in love with shredded radish braised pork, especially the shredded radish braised pork made by my mother. I can eat a catty of it by myself.My mother is a housewife who is good at cooking, even an ordinary dish, cooked by her hands is much more delicious than that made by others.My mother also cooks a lot of special dishes, and shredded pork with radish is one of her famous dishes. In the twelfth lunar month, after the whole family came back, the mother made a fuss about killing the New Year pigs.After the Nian pig is killed, my mother will be busy at home for a few days, first marinating the bacon, and then cooking the lard.

Pork belly is usually made of pork belly, cut into five-inch squares, put them into the oil pan that has scooped out the oil, and arrange them one by one; turn on the fire slightly, and the fat oil will come out, and the corners of the meat will start to shrink , upturned, you can turn the meat over; wait for it to boil until the corners shrink and upturn, sprinkle with salt, stir fry for a while, see that the salt is probably mixed, and put it into a large jar filled with shredded radish at the bottom; Put the lid on and sprinkle the rim with water or oil to seal it. In March and April of the second year, when the wased rice fields are planted, the weather starts to turn hot, so take out the shredded radish and meat, cut into slices, spread the shredded radish on the bottom, put the meat on top, and heat it up before eating.The buckwheat has a bit of sour taste, not too sour. The sweet strawberry sour tastes very refreshing without being greasy.

I grew up eating this kind of braised pork, which left me with many wonderful memories in my childhood.When I left the countryside and went to the city to study, my mother stopped producing buckwheat.When I returned to my hometown during the Spring Festival, looking at my mother's tired look, I submerged the thoughts of delicious food in my heart in the vision of loving my mother. When I returned to the city, whenever I recalled my mother’s braised pork, I began to itch to try my own cooking skills.After getting married, my wife is a woman who loves to eat, and asked me to make shredded radish and braised pork from my hometown for her to eat.Because it takes a long time to make braised radish with shredded radish, I bought ready-made raw braised pork in the market and steamed it for her to eat. She was still dissatisfied after eating it and asked me to make raw braised pork myself.

I have never cooked pickled pork with preserved vegetables, and I don't know the procedures, so I had to ask my aunt who has been in the city for many years, and come to learn.After I came back, I started to make pickled meat with preserved vegetables for my wife: first, I bought the pork belly, cut it into large cubes, smeared it with cooking wine and soy sauce, and fried it until the meat began to shrink and the oil juice came out. Add chili powder, salt, and tempeh to crude oil to make chili oil for later use.When eating, cut into slices, mix with chili oil, spread plum vegetables on the bottom of the bowl, put the original braised pork, add some soy sauce and sesame oil, steam it and serve.

When eating, the oil juice is still there, but it is not greasy, revealing a tormented oil and crispy fragrance; the lean meat has been cooked through the soy sauce, and it has been cooked and tightened, and it tastes like strips of lean meat, with hardness; It has umami and sweetness; there is also a meaty aroma that cannot be expressed by other methods; and the chili oil spread on the surface has a spicy taste and dispels the fishy smell of fresh meat. My wife ate the braised pork with preserved vegetables, and never asked me how delicious the pork with shredded radish was.