Instant Pot Chinese Braised Pork Belly Rice

If you’re craving for something savoury, comforting and satisfying enough to fill your belly, this Instant Pot Chinese Braised Pork Belly Rice is your answer! Also known is hong shao rou (紅燒肉) in Chinese, this dish features juicy and tender pork belly coated in a glossy and flavourful sauce that’s perfect over rice. This dish normally takes around 2 hours to cook, but using a pressure cooker means you get the same delicious flavours, but faster!

what is instant pot chinese braised pork belly rice?

Chinese braised pork belly, or hong shao rou (紅燒肉) is a classic Chinese dish made by simmering pork belly in savoury, sweet and aromatic sauce until it’s tender and has a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Traditionally, it’s simmered for 1.5 to 2 hours over low heat, which allows the pork belly to become super soft and tender while the sauce thickens and infuses the meat with flavour. However, this Instant Pot pressure cooker recipe reduces the cooking time significantly. Pressure cooking achieves the same tender texture in just 20 minutes, followed by a 5 minute simmer to thicken the sauce.

This dish is best served with steamed rice and blanched vegetables. I personally love to have this with some blanched pak choi or some Chinese cabbage.

why you’ll love this recipe

• Tender and melt-in-your-mouth pork belly with rich and flavourful sauce that goes perfect with rice.
• Made fast and easy with Instant Pot (pressure cooker), no need for hours of slow cooking!
• Perfect comfort food that’s filling and satisfying, goes well with rice and veggies and quick enough for a delicious lunch any day.

ingredients

• 500g pork belly (preferably with skin), chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 2 ginger slices
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 20g rock sugar
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder 
• 1.5 cups hot water

aromatics and spices:

• 3 ginger slices
• 2 green onion, chopped to 1 inch pieces
• 2 star anise
• 2 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns

how to make instant pot chinese braised pork belly rice

1. In a pot of cold water, add pork belly cubes, sliced ginger, green onion and Shaoxing wine. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes until scum rises. Drain and rinse the pork.
2. In the Instant Pot on sauté mode, heat oil and melt rock sugar until it caramelises. Add pork and sear for 1–2 minutes until browned.
3. Add aromatics and spices and sauté for 30 seconds. Then add Shaoxing wine, dark and light soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper and water. Stir well.
4. Pressure cook for 20 minutes and quick release. Switch to sauté mode and cook for 5–7 minutes to thicken the sauce into a glossy glaze.
   
5. Serve over rice and blanched vegetables of choice and enjoy!

my top tips for making instant pot chinese braised pork belly rice

1) use pork belly with skin

I highly recommend using pork belly with skin on for this recipe, because the skin releases collagen during cooking, which makes the sauce extra sticky, gelatinous and rich in texture.

2) always blanch the pork before cooking

Before cooking the pork, I always like to blanch the pork for at least 5 minutes to remove the impurities, scum and excess fat. This results in a cleaner and better tasting final dish.

3) use rock sugar instead of regular sugar

Rock sugar is used in Chinese cooking as it has a subtle sweetness and dissolves more slowly, making the sauce nice and glossy without any sharp or harsh taste like regular sugar.

4) simmer the sauce for the final 5-10 mins

After pressure cooking, simmering thickens the sauce into a thick and shiny glaze that coats the pork perfectly.

check out more pressure cooker recipes!

• Instant Pot Taiwanese Braised Beef Noodle Soup
• Instant Pot Vietnamese Chicken Pho
• Instant Pot Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly

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