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.
