东坡肉東坡肉
Dōng pō ròu dung1 bo1 juk6
Su Dongpo — Song-dynasty poet, statesman and gourmet — supposedly perfected this wine-braised pork belly while exiled in Hangzhou. Learning his name unlocks half of Chinese literature; the dish is the tastier footnote.
The story behind it
Su Dongpo wrote an actual poem about pork — “slow fire, little water; when the heat is full, it is beautiful by itself” — while exiled in Huangzhou. Hangzhou claims the dish from his later posting, where he supposedly paid dyke workers in braised pork squares.
Ingredients
- 600 g pork belly in one piece
- 200 ml Shaoxing wine (no water at all)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp dark soy
- 40 g rock sugar
- Big bundle of spring onions + sliced ginger to line the pot
Steps
- Blanch the belly, then cut into 5 cm squares; tie each with string.
- Line a clay pot with onions and ginger; add pork skin-side down.
- Pour in wine, soys and sugar; simmer covered 90 minutes.
- Flip skin-side up, steam or simmer 30 minutes more until wobbling-tender.