Mao Zedong's Red Braised Pork

The Chairman’s Favorite

Red braised pork (hong shao rou) was Mao Zedong’s favorite dish, a peasant comfort food from his native Hunan province that remained his culinary obsession throughout his life. This dish is deceptively simple — pork belly, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and sugar — but the technique turns those humble ingredients into something genuinely remarkable.

The meat becomes so tender it barely needs chewing, and the sauce develops a deep, savory complexity from the wine and spices. The dark soy gives it that iconic lacquered finish, while the sugar added at the end creates a glossy reduction that coats every piece.

The result is more savory and aromatic than sticky-sweet, with the Shaoxing wine cutting through and balancing the sugar. It’s comfort food elevated to something worthy of a revolutionary leader’s table.