The Braised Pork with Potatoes My Dad's Made 100,000 Times

Step 1: Prepare vegetables

Peel potatoes (2 lb). Place the peeled potatoes in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from oxidizing and browning. Of course, if you prefer to eat the skin, you can leave the potatoes unpeeled and simply clean them thoroughly.

Once you’ve peeled all the potatoes, give them another quick rinse. Drain the water, then cut the potatoes into bite-sized triangular chunks.

Trim off the ends of the carrots (3 oz). Peel and rinse them, then cut into triangular chunks.

Cut the red onion (3 oz) into bite-sized pieces.

Peel the garlic (3 clove), then cut into thirds.

We’ll use only the green parts of the green onions (3 stalk) for this recipe; cut them into 2-inch long batons.

Step 2: Prepare pork

Place the pork (1 lb) in a bowl of cold water. Scrape the surface of the skin to remove debris and hair. To scrape, drag the blade of your knife sideways along the surface, dipping into the water to rinse.

When the skin is clean to your satisfaction, remove the pork from the bowl and pat it dry with paper towels.

Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces, at least an inch thick. If the pieces are too small or too thin, they’ll fall apart during the braise.

Step 3: Stir-fry onions & potatoes

Heat a wok on high. Add oil (1 tsp).

Add the red onion and stir-fry until fragrant, or about 30 seconds. Transfer the red onion to a bowl.

Add a bit more oil (1 tsp), then add the potatoes and stir-fry until fragrant, or about 2 minutes. Add more oil if the potatoes stick to the wok. When the surface of the potatoes is golden-brown to your liking, transfer the potatoes to a bowl. Of course, they won’t be fully cooked through at this point; this stir-fry step gets some golden color and aroma on the potatoes.

Step 4: Stir-fry pork

Add more oil (1 tsp) and the pork. Let the pork cook undisturbed for 30-40 seconds so that the pieces can brown; then flip and brown the other side for 30-40 seconds.

If you’re using pork belly like us, you’ll see some of the pork fat render out. This is really flavorful and will help everything fry nicely. If you’re using a leaner cut of pork, use your discretion in adding a touch more oil if the meat sticks to the wok.

Add the garlic and stir-fry it together for about 20 seconds.

Step 5: Add seasoning & combine ingredients

Turn the heat to the lowest setting, or turn it off completely. Add ground bean sauce (1 tbsp), oyster sauce (1 tbsp), and light soy sauce (1 tbsp). Briefly stir to distribute everything.

Bring the heat back up to medium. Add sugar (2 tsp) and stir it in to distribute.

Add the potatoes and carrots to the wok. Stir for 30 seconds to mix everything up.

Step 6: Braise

Add enough boiling water (3 cup) to almost fully cover all the ingredients; they don’t need to be swimming, but they need to braise in the boiling liquid.

Cover the wok with the lid and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.

Uncover the wok (be careful of hot, billowing steam!) and give it a taste. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. My dad added 1/2 tsp of salt (0.50 tsp).

Give everything a good stir and cover the wok again. Cook on medium heat until the potatoes have cooked through and are tender, which took 3-4 minutes for us.

Monitor the level of braising liquid; the potatoes soak up water as they cook, so you may need to add more water if the braising liquid falls too low. Add extra water in small amounts; the final dish should be nice and saucy, but not overly runny.

Check for the doneness of the potatoes. Once they are tender enough to easily pierce with a paring knife or chopstick, they’re done. Turn off the heat.

Add the red onions, green onions, and sesame oil (1 tsp). Give everything a good stir to distribute.

Transfer the braised pork and potatoes to a serving dish. Get every last drop of braising sauce; it’s divine over rice. Enjoy!