Long-Cooked Pork Shoulder

This is a Shanghai classic, a dish of sweetened pork, so highly regarded that it is a must at family observances, feasts, religious occasions, and even funerals. Traditionally, a whole pork shoulder is blanched in boiling oil, then cooked in a large pot on the stove top for about 6 hours, until its meat is so tender it falls off the bone, thus its description as a long-cooked preparation. It is also known as a red-cooked dish because of its deep reddish-brown color, which comes from cooking