# Braised Pork

Red braised pork belly or hong shao rou (simplified Chinese: 红烧肉; traditional Chinese: 紅燒肉; pinyin: hóngshāoròu) is a classic pork dish from mainland China, red-cooked using pork belly and a combination of ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chilies, sugar, star anise, light and dark soy sauce, and rice wine. The pork belly is cooked until the fat and skin are gelatinous, soft, and melt easily in the mouth, while the sauce is usually thick, sweet and fairly sticky. The dish has a melt in the mouth texture that is formed as a result of a long braising process, during which the liquid reduces and becomes thick.