Chairman Mao’s Pork Belly

This Hunan specialty, which was one of Mao’s favourite dishes, is a bit like pork candy. The meat is braised in a sugary rice wine and soy liquid and slowly softens until it is meltingly tender and coated in a sticky sweet-and-sour sauce. Chinese rock sugar makes this dish very authentic and you can easily buy it online, but feel free to use normal caster sugar instead.