Is it better to blanch braised pork or not? Why should braised pork be blanched first?

Braised pork in brown sauce is a popular delicacy. It has various cooking methods, delicious taste and smooth taste. It is deeply loved by people. Many people like to eat braised pork in brown sauce, especially the middle-aged and elderly. There are certain requirements for making braised pork in brown sauce. So should braised pork be boiled first? Let's take a closer look!

Do you need to blanch the braised pork?

It is best to blanch the braised pork in advance. This is the most basic and simplest operation to remove the bloody smell and "blood foam" impurities. Some friends have doubts about this, perhaps thinking that blanching will lose the meat flavor or pork nutrition, but this worry is unnecessary.

First of all, the blanching process is actually to use the heat contraction of pork to remove some of the remaining blood and tissue fluid, which are not of high nutritional value, and there are also some impurities in the tissue fluid that are not good for health, which is also one of the sources of pork odor. And if it is not removed by blanching, these substances that form "blood foam" will turn into black slag in the subsequent cooking, which will also affect the appearance.

Secondly, the nutrients in meat are difficult to dissolve in soup. Even if the broth is boiled for several hours, the total amount of nutrients that can be dissolved is very small, and most of the valuable nutrients will remain in the solid matter of the meat. Boiling for a long time will not dissolve much nutrients, so the blanching time will not lose anything.

Therefore, whether from the perspective of cooking operations or nutritional content, it is better to blanch the pork before making braised pork.

What is the effect of blanching braised pork?

Some people not only blanch the food, but also blanch it three times. There are several benefits to blanching the food three times:

The first blanching: remove the fishy smell and foreign matter

Have you noticed that pork now has a stronger smell than before? The reason is that pigs are fed with feed and grown quickly. If you don't blanch the pork, the smell will be locked in the meat, so you should first cut the pork belly into large pieces and blanch it in advance. Not only should you blanch it in water, but you should also blanch it in cold water so that the smell can be slowly released.

Second blanching: shaping

Friends who cook at home may not pay much attention to the shape, and usually cut it into pieces and blanch it. At this time, because it is fresh meat, the meat pieces will shrink quickly. The size and shape will be different due to different shrinkage degrees. The maturity and appearance are not very good, so we have to blanch the meat pieces after the first blanching for the second time. Strictly speaking, it is boiling, because we want to cook it until it is 50% or 60% done, so that it is basically fixed. Why do we blanch it twice here instead of connecting it with the first blanching? Because it takes about 20 minutes to cook meat that is 50% or 60% done. After a lot of cooking, the soup will become very fragrant. It has been blanched once before, so the soup is very clean. We usually use it instead of water to make braised pork.

The third blanching: further remove the fishy smell and foreign matter

The third blanching is after it has been cooked into the desired size, and then blanched in cold water again to further remove the fishy smell and foreign matter.

What are the techniques for making braised pork?

1. Choose fresh pork belly and make sure to remove all the hair. Otherwise, it will look disgusting. Remove all the hair with a knife first. Then, after the first blanching, you can take the meat out and observe carefully to see if there are any remaining hairs. After the first blanching, if there are any, the hairs will stand up, making it easier to identify and remove.

2. When blanching for the first time, you must add cooking wine to remove the fishy smell of the pork belly. When blanching for the second time, you must add aniseed to enhance the flavor of the pork belly.

3. When using rock sugar to stir-fry sugar color, be sure to control the heat. If the fire is too high, the sugar color will burn, and the pork belly will taste bitter and not delicious.

4. After the pork belly is colored with sugar color, add water and appropriate amount of light soy sauce and dark soy sauce to complete the braising step. Simmer over medium heat, pay attention to the changes in the soup, and finally cook over high heat to reduce the juice.