Ingredients
500 g (about 1 lb) each of fatty pork and pork elbow, 250 g (about 1/2 lb) pork skin, 100 g (about 3.5 oz) canned winter bamboo shoots, 50 g (about 1.75 oz) rehydrated black mushrooms, 1 pork stomach, 2500 g (about 5.5 lbs) chicken broth.
Seasonings
200 g (about 7 oz) fine salt, 250 g (about 9 oz) star anise, 150 g (about 5 oz) rice vinegar, 100 g (about 3.5 oz) each of soy sauce, cooking wine, and scallions, 50 g (about 2 oz) ginger, 25 g (about 1 oz) white sugar, 10 g (about 0.4 oz) each of Sichuan peppercorns and five-spice powder, 15 g (about 0.5 oz) cinnamon stick, and a small amount of caramel coloring.
Instructions
1. Slice the dried mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots; cut 50 g of scallions into sections and mince the other 50 g; slice half the ginger and mince the other half; scrape the hair off the pork hock skin, blanch it in boiling water, remove, and rinse clean. Remove the fat from the pork stomach, rub it with vinegar and 175 g of salt to eliminate the slime, then drain; marinate the cleaned pork stomach by mixing it with 20 g of salt, 25 g of scallion sections, 15 g of sliced ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns.
2. Place a wok over high heat, add chicken broth, then cooking wine, white sugar, star anise, cinnamon, 10 g ginger slices, 25 g scallion segments, and 5 g salt. Add the pork elbow to the broth, bring to a boil and skim off any foam, then reduce to low heat and simmer until the meat is about 80% tender. Remove the meat, pork skin, and elbow and let cool. Slice the elbow into thick pieces, slice the meat into pieces, and shred the pork skin into strips.
3. Place the sliced pork shoulder, meat slices, shredded pork skin, sliced mushrooms, and sliced winter bamboo shoots in a bowl. Add scallions, minced ginger, five-spice powder, and MSG, then mix well. Stuff the mixture into the pork stomach, sew or tie the opening tightly, blanch it in boiling water, and scrape off any mucus.
4. Add 1000 g (about 4 cups) of water to the original pot, adjust the seasoning, place the stuffed pork belly in the pot, and cook for 2 hours; during cooking, poke small holes with a bamboo skewer to release steam and prevent bursting; after removing, press the pork belly flat with a wooden board or clean stone slab, let it cool, then remove the tying string; when serving, slice and arrange on a plate. This dish has a rich five-spice flavor and is an excellent accompaniment to drinks.