Nombelina

A new Nombelina favorite. Red cooked pork, also known as dong po pork or dong po rou. I first came across this dish on the internet. I never noticed it at a Chinese restaurant and I have no idea whether it’s usually served over here. I served the pork with bok choy stir fried with a bit of soy sauce and steamed rice.

This dish is super easy and doesn’t involve very complicated ingredients. I love it!

Ingredients for 2 servings:

500 gr pork belly with skin

Thumbsize piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

1 green onion in 1 1/4 inch lengths

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 Tbs brown sugar

2 Tbs light soy sauce

1 Tbs dark soy sauce

2 1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 cups boiling water

1/3 cup shaoxing wine

Vegetable oil

Cornstarch dissolved in water

Heat a bit of oil in a wok. Add the green onion, ginger and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.

Add sugar, let it melt and add the dark and light soy sauce and wine. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and add 2 1/2 cups of lukewarm water.

Cut the pork belly in 2 x 2 inch pieces. My pieces were a bit smaller and weren’t able to stand up as nicely. Put the pieces of pork on a tray or rack and scald with the boiling water. You could also boil some water in a pan and dip the pieces in there. Don’t dip too many at once or the temperature will drop.

Place the pork skin side down in a pan with a lid ideal for stewing. Pour the sauce over the pork and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, cover with the lid and braise for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn the pieces upside down, cover with lid slightly ajar and braise for another 3 hours. Baste the skin with the sauce regularly.

Use a pan that snugly fits the pork or else the liquid won’t be up high enough.

Carefully remove the pork from the pan. Strain the sauce and bring back to a boil. Add the dissolved cornstarch bit by bit until desired thickness. I had a lot of sauce and used a bit under a tablespoon of cornstarch.

Original recipe by: Maameemoomoo

Serve with steamed rice or in a steamed bun.

The meat becomes nicely tender and the sauce is wonderful with the steamed rice. The skin and fat becomes soft and jelly like. I would find it hard to chose a favorite out of this dish and my roasted pork belly, but I will definitely be making this again soon.

Tags: asian, Chinese, meat, pork