- 6 cups water
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup Chinese rice wine or medium-dry Sherry
- 1/2 cup Chinese rock sugar or packed light brown sugar
- 1 bunch scallions, white parts smashed and greens reserved
- 2 (1-inch-thick) pieces fresh ginger, smashed
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 10 fresh cilantro stems (reserve leaves for garnish)
- 2 (4- by 1-inch) strips fresh orange zest
- 2 whole star anise
- 1 (5- to 6-lb) boneless pork butt, shoulder, or blade roast, tied
- 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
- Accompaniment: frizzled ginger
- Stir together water, soy sauce, wine, rock sugar, white parts of scallions, ginger, garlic, cilantro stems, zest strips, and star anise in a deep 6- to 8-quart heavy pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add pork, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently, turning pork over every 30 minutes, until very tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Cool pork in cooking liquid, uncovered, about 1 hour, then chill, covered, at least 8 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Transfer chilled pork to a clean cutting board, then remove string and cut meat across the grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange pork in overlapping slices in a 13- by 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Discard fat from cooking liquid and reheat liquid over low heat until warm, then pour through a sieve into a bowl (discard solids). Transfer 2 cups cooking liquid to a 1-quart saucepan, reserving remainder for another use. Bring to a simmer, then pour over pork. Cover dish tightly with foil and heat in middle of oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.
- Cut scallion greens diagonally into thin slices. Carefully pour hot broth from baking dish into a bowl and stir in scallion greens and grated zest. Serve pork with broth, topped with cilantro leaves and frizzled ginger.