Braised Pork Head (First Method)

Ingredients

• 5 jin (Chinese pound) pork head, cleaned
• 3 jin sweet wine (甜酒)
• 30 roots scallion (蔥)
• 3 qian (Chinese weight, ~1.1 g) star anise (八角)
• 1 large cup autumn-pressed soy sauce (秋油)
• 1 liang (Chinese ounce, ~37 g) sugar (糖)
• as needed water (開水)

Instructions

1. Clean the pork head thoroughly. Place it in a wok or large pot with the sweet wine, scallions, and star anise. Bring to a boil and cook for over two hundred rolls of boiling (火候, timing by vigorous bubbling). Add one large cup of autumn-pressed soy sauce (秋油) and the sugar. Once the pork head is nearly tender, taste for salt and soy balance, adjusting the soy sauce as needed.
2. Add fresh water until it covers the pork head by one cun. Press down with a heavy weight to keep the head submerged. Apply high heat for the time it takes an incense stick to burn (一炷香, a traditional measure of time, roughly 15–20 minutes). Then reduce to gentle heat (文火), simmering slowly until the braising liquid reduces and the meat becomes glossy and unctuous—cook until the fat has been drawn into the meat and the sauce clings richly. When fully tender, remove the lid immediately; delay will cause the oil to escape from the meat.