Braised Dried Cuttlefish with Pork Belly

Cooking StepsHow to cook Braised Dried Cuttlefish with Pork Belly step by step

Cooking Process

1. 
   Step 1 Detail

   Soak the dried cuttlefish in advance until softened (at least 3 hours), then cut into pieces and set aside. Wash and cut the pork belly into pieces. Pan-fry the pork belly to render out excess fat, leaving a little oil in the pot. Add garlic and fry until slightly wrinkled, then add ginger slices, chili peppers, and the dried cuttlefish. Stir-fry until fragrant.

2. 
   Step 2 Detail

   Add the pan-fried pork belly back to the pot. Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rock sugar. Toss everything until evenly coated. (Adjust seasonings to your taste — my ratio of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce is roughly 1:1:0.5, with 3 small pieces of rock sugar.)

3. 
   Step 3 Detail

   Pour in the beer and bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and braise for about 30 minutes until the sauce slightly reduces. (Use all beer here — enough to nearly cover the ingredients. You can also use half beer and half water, or all water with a splash of rice wine for aroma and to neutralize any fishiness.)

4. 
   Step 4 Detail

   Taste and adjust seasoning — if it is too bland, add a little more soy sauce or salt. Once seasoned to your liking, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce. Do not let it dry out completely — leaving a little sauce makes it even better over rice.

5. 
   Step 5 Detail
6. 
   Step 6 Detail