Serves 4 | Difficulty: Easy
Melt-in-your-mouth pork belly perfection. An absolute favorite for all.
Calling all pork belly lovers, this meal plan is for YOU. I am SUPER excited about this meal plan because it’s my FAVORITE one yet (John’s too)!
In fact, I’m shocked I haven’t shared this gem until now. But hey, better late than never, right?
In this plan, we’re immersing ourselves in the rich flavors of pork belly with two incredibly delicious recipes: Twice Cooked Pork and Soy Sauce Braised Pork Belly. Even John’s dad, who used to be a Chinese chef, said these recipes are “Excellent”!
In Chinese culture where a “not bad” is the highest praise a child can get from their parents, an “excellent” rating is a BIG DEAL. I have obtained the highest praise I can ever hope to achieve as a daughter-in-law.
If you’re a seasoned meal prepper, click here to skip straight to the Meal Plan Menu. Otherwise, let’s go over a few key tips for success.
Choose skin-on pork belly. The skin gives an extra silky mouthfeel. Also look for cuts with a 2:1 ratio of meat to fat.
Make sure the fat and meat layers are evenly distributed (like the top 3 pieces). The more layers it has, the better. You don’t want it to be too fatty, but too lean of a cut will turn out tough and dry.
⚠️ ATTENTION:
If you end up with a fattier cut, don’t fret! You can always render the excess fat and use it to make your fried rice extra delicious or simply discard it.
As the name Twice Cooked Pork suggests, cooking the pork belly twice is the secret to achieving that melt-in-your-mouth tenderness perfect for a stir-fry.
Trust me, this bit of extra effort makes all the difference.
Pre-cooking pork belly has other perks too:
⚠️ ATTENTION:
You can apply this trick to most pork belly recipes (braised or stir-fry) to achieve the above results!
Simply add pork belly to the Instant Pot, fill with water until it covers 3/4 the thickness of the pork, toss in a few slices of ginger, then cook for 10 minutes on low pressure. Give it at least 10 minutes of natural release before quick releasing. Or let it release fully naturally.
I like to pre-cook the pork belly on a night when I’m relatively free. I set it, go about my night, then come back to it when I’m ready.
And here’s the best part – you can even cook it from frozen, perfect for those forgetful freezer moments! Once cooked, give the pork belly a quick rinse, pat it dry, and store it in the fridge (in an airtight container) for up to 4 days.
If using on the same day, soak cooked pork in cold water to cool it down to room temp quickly.
I’m not the recipe police, so do as your heart desires. Will it be delicious? Sure! But the result will not be the same. Try this twice-cooked method at least once if you can!
If you’re still not convinced or feel too intimidated by the process, read the next section and see how I keep my cooking workflow from becoming too overwhelming.
The day before:
The day of:
Easy as 1-2-3. Literally.
Check out my Getting Started guide to learn how to use this meal plan.
Blanching vegetables serves 2 purposes: (1) It prevents loss of flavor, color, and texture—extending the “life” of the vegetable throughout the week, and (2) it gives us a head start in the cooking process for stir-fries. Stir-frying generally only takes 5 minutes. If you start from raw, some pieces won’t cook as evenly as others (especially hardy vegetables like broccoli). Blanching pre-cooks each piece of veggie so you will have a consistent tasting stir-fry every time. This is a well-known technique used in many Chinese restaurants!
Here’s how:
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge to keep maximum freshness. Use them within 7-10 days. If you suspect it has gone bad – the color has changed (e.g. turns brown), there is visible mold, the texture is mushy – toss them. Always err on the side of caution to avoid food poisoning.
Store in meal prep containers or in the bags they come with in the crisper drawer. If a vegetable has a high-water content and tends to go limp quick, wrap it with a paper towel before storing it in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs excess liquid that will prevent it from wilting or turning mushy.
As a general guideline, vacuum seal seafood if you won’t be using it within 2 days of purchase. For this reason, I always place recipes with seafood earlier in the Meal Plan Menu. For meat, vacuum seal if you won’t be using them within 4-5 days of purchase or the product’s “best by” date. Vacuum seal ASAP to keep maximum freshness. Vacuum sealed meat and seafood keep for over a week without any issues. However, if you know you won’t be able to use it within the week, date them and pop them in the freezer for later use. They are good for up to 6 months before their flavor and texture start to lessen.
If you do not have a vacuum sealer, wrap fish and meat tightly with saran wrap, then wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Store in a Ziploc bag, squeezing as much air out as possible. Date them and pop them in the freezer for later use.
Use different cutting boards for your proteins and veggies. Always wash and disinfect knives when switching from meat to veggies to prevent cross-contamination. It goes without saying that you should clean your produce before consumption and preparation.
During prep, always start with food cooked at the lowest temperature first, working your way up. For example, chopped scallions are often used as garnish and will be consumed raw, so chop them before potatoes (which you will cook so the risk is lower). Likewise, you would prepare salad greens first.
The same principle applies when keeping them in the fridge. Don’t stack raw chicken above fish – any juices from the chicken that trickle into the fish would pose a risk. Should the chicken be contaminated with salmonella, the time and temperature at which you would cook fish to perfection is not enough to kill the bacteria.
As you’re prepping this dish, I recommend pre-cooking tomorrow’s meal at the same time then storing it for future use. See above sections Why Should I Cook Pork Belly Twice? and How to Prep for Success for more details. Don’t forget to prep the broccoli stir-fry (recipe follows)!
⚠️ ATTENTION:
Feel free to omit the bell pepper altogether from your Twice Cooked Pork if you don’t like dealing with leftovers. Otherwise, you can add the remaining half to your broccoli stir-fry. (I’ll be honest, I added it mostly for color and presentation, as well as to sneak in more veggies.)
Quick link to stir-fry sauce post: All-Purpose Stir-fry Sauce.
⚠️ ATTENTION:
Keep a stash of the stir-fry sauce in your fridge and use it for any stir-fries for up to 2 months!
This pork belly dish is perfection. Tender, savory, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth. It’s one you’ll want to bookmark and come back too time and again. Don’t forget to pair this with the Broccoli stir-fry too!
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| ingredient | quantity | unit | category | notes | list type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dark soy sauce | 2 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| hoisin sauce | 1 | tsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| la doubanjiang | 1 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | (sichuan spicy bean paste) | pantry | |
| rock sugar | 30 | g | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| shaoxing wine | 1 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| soy sauce | 0.33 | cup | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| star anise | 2 | piece | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| stir-fry sauce | 0.5 | cup | other | homemade with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil | pantry | |
| fried shallot | 30 | g | condiments and spices | substitute raw shallot if you can’t find the fried ones | shopping | |
| egg | 4 | large | dairy and misc. refrigerated items | shopping | ||
| skin-on pork belly | 2.5 | lb | meat and seafood | shopping | ||
| broccoli floret | 1.5 | lb | produce | shopping | ||
| garlic | 13 | clove | produce | shopping | ||
| ginger | 50 | g | produce | about 4-5 inches | shopping | |
| jalapeno | 2 | medium | produce | shopping | ||
| scallion | 5 | stalk | produce | shopping | ||
| red bell pepper | 0.5 | small | produce | (optional) | shopping |
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
Diane
It’s pork what I can other than it’s delicious. Try is mouthwatering pork belly!
2 years ago
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
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Diane
So easy to make and super yum!!
2 years ago