Old Shanghai Braised Pork Chops

Old Shanghai Braised Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 400g pork chops
• 1 bunch scallion
• 5-6 slices ginger
• 1 egg white (for marinating)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (for marinating)
• 1 tbsp cooking wine (for marinating)
• 1g salt (for marinating)
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (for braising)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (for braising)
• 1 tbsp cooking wine (for braising)
• 3 tbsp sugar (for braising)

Instructions

1. These are the misshapen pork chops I got from a group buy. I had to remove the bones and trim the fat.
2. The trimmed pork chops — quite small pieces.
3. Use a meat mallet to pound both sides firmly until the chops expand to 1.5-2 times their original size.
4. After pounding all the chops, start marinating: 1 egg white, 1 tbsp cooking wine, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1g salt. Mix by hand, making sure both sides of each chop absorb the egg white.
5. The chops will feel slippery on the surface after absorbing the egg white, no longer dry. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Pour some cornstarch onto a clean plate. Coat each chop on both sides with starch. Don't use too much — the amount shown in the photo is just right. If you accidentally use too much, lift the chop and gently pat both sides to shake off the excess. Too thick a starch coating will absorb too much water during braising and fall off, affecting the texture.
7. Heat the wok with oil and briefly pan-fry both sides just to set the shape. Don't fry until golden — just cook through. Over-frying will make the meat tough.
8. The color should be similar to the piece in the lower left. The one on top was the first piece — too much oil and high heat made it golden. The secret to quick golden color is high heat and lots of oil, but for braised pork chops, golden is not the goal.
9. Heat the wok with a little oil and sauté the ginger slices.
10. Add 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, and 1 tbsp cooking wine.
11. Add the pork chops and coat them with the sauce to color them and remove any gamey smell.
12. After coloring the chops, add hot water! Hot water! Hot water! The water level should be even with the chops. Cover and braise over medium heat.
13. Once the water boils, uncover and add 3 tbsp sugar. Stir briefly, then cover again and continue braising over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes.
14. When the sauce has reduced to your desired amount, add 1 bunch of scallions, cover and cook for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.
15. Serve and enjoy. We Shanghainese like to soak the pork chops in the sauce, so keep plenty of braising liquid — it's amazing with noodles or rice!
16. Tender, not dry at all — perfect braised pork chops!