Priscilla H. Ballou wrote:
> [snip] When I red cook, I use a concoction which is
> basically soy sauce, water, ginger, sugar, maybe
> something else (don't have _How to Cook and Eat in Chinese_
> here at the office). Do you make a lot and freeze the extra?
> Freeze it and reuse it? Or do you mean something else by
> "red-cooking sauce?"
>
Yeah, that's the stuff, with star anise (essential) and dried Sichuan
peppers and other options like a piece of cinammon bark and a hunk of
yellow rock sugar.

After you've enjoyed your red cooked pork and turnips, strain the
cooking liquid through cheesecloth into a jar and refrigerate it. When
it's cold, any fat in it will come to the top and congeal. I leave it
there as a sealant until the next time I use it (just like chicken
stock). It will keep for months in the refrigerator, I think, though
we usually reuse it quicker than that. Sometimes I have a larger
quantity than I know I will normally need, so I divide it and freeze
the excess.

The next time you use it, bring it to a simmer for a couple of minutes
and then taste it. Replenish whichever elements you think it needs --
star anise, five-spice powder, dried chile peppers, garlic, ginger,
whatever, or everything. Repeat the storage and reuse process until
you have to move. That's the only reason why our current batch is only
a year or so old.

-aem