Red cooking

Red-cooked pork belly served with thickened braising sauce

Red cooking is an English umbrella term used to describe two slow braising Chinese cooking techniques: hóng shāo (Traditional Chinese: 紅燒) or lǔ (Traditional Chinese: 滷; pinyin: lǔ). While the former can be done in less than 20 minutes and usually does not require much water, the latter usually requires prolonged cooking upwards to several hours and the items must be more or less submerged in the cooking liquid. These two Chinese cooking techniques are popular and common throughout most of northern, eastern, and southeastern China. The name is derived from the dark red-brown colour of the cooked items and its sauce.

Red cooking can also be referred to as Chinese stewing, red stewing or red braising, and sometimes also described with the term flavour potting.

Types

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Soy sauce (either combination of light and dark soy sauce), fermented bean pastes, or caramelized sugar is commonly used to give an appetizing reddish brown tone and flavours to the items being cooked. Both lu and hong-shao red cooking are forms of stewing or braising and are characterized by the use of soy sauce, Chinese wine, and caramelized sugar. Whole spices (star anise, black cardamom (caoguo), cassia, and/or fennel seeds) or five-spice powder are crucial elements in these dishes but are used in moderation such that their flavours do not overwhelm the items undergoing red cooking.

Red-cooked stews may be meat-heavy or contain a variety of meat, vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs. Such dishes may be served hot or cold and the sauce or stock is often re-used.

A caramelized sugar flavor is popular in red-cooked dishes. To create a caramelized sugar sauce, oil is heated to a very high temperature (usually in a wok), then combined with sugar. The heat is then reduced and the mixture is allowed to cook for a short time. The sugar dissolves, and the oil becomes sticky. After the sugar and oil solution begins bubbling thoroughly and takes on a bright brown colour, it is mixed with hot water.

Finally, spices and other flavorings, such as Shaoxing huangjiu and soy sauce, are added.

See also

Food portal

• Jiangsu cuisine
• Fujian cuisine
• Zhejiang cuisine
• Shanghai cuisine
• Hunan cuisine
• Char siu
• Kho

References

External links

• Article describing red cooking