On October 6th, 2025, the Mid-Autumn Festival, I picked fresh hawthorns and apples from the orchards around the Shanzhou Pit-Dwelling Courtyard. Today, I'll use these fresh hawthorns and pork belly to make a sweet and sour braised pork dish. This is a sweet and sour braised pork dish.
Materials
Steps for making braised pork with hawthorn
Add a little oil to the bottom of the pot, then add rock sugar and cook over medium-low heat until the sugar melts and turns caramel color.
Add the blanched pork belly pieces!
Stir-fry evenly until each piece of meat is coated with caramel!
Add a spoonful of cooking wine,
A spoonful of light soy sauce,
A spoonful of dark soy sauce,
Add ginger slices and 3 hawthorns.
Add Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, and cinnamon.
Add boiling water, just enough to cover the pork belly. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the pork belly is tender.
Prepare 6 hawthorns, removing both ends.
Cook the pork belly to your desired tenderness. When you're ready to reduce the sauce over high heat, add fresh hawthorn berries.
Once the sauce has thickened, it's ready to serve.
Add the hawthorns in two batches: the first batch of 3 hawthorns helps the pork belly tenderize quickly; the second batch of 6 hawthorns coats the pork belly with a fresh, tangy flavor.
This is a sweet and sour braised pork dish. Unlike the sourness of vinegar and tomato sauce, the sourness comes from the fruit acid of fresh hawthorn.
It goes very well with rice; those who like sweet and sour flavors should give it a try.
Freshly picked hawthorns.
An apple wearing a raincoat 🍎. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
