Pork Belly is one of Piglet’s favourite. It can be any type of dish in general. A few months ago, Piglet suggested that I try a variety of dishes instead of the same old stewed pork with egg.
I’ve decided to try out Dong Po Rou. According to wikipedia, it is a Song dynasty dish named after Su Dong Po. It involves red cooking the meat by simmering and then steaming.
Dong Po Rou Recipe
Ingredients
900g pork belly
1 bottle cooking wine
spring onion
ginger
2 tbs dark soy
50g brown sugar
Method
1.Clean Pork
Thaw, remove hair and exfoliate with rough salt
Dry pork with a kitchen towel and toast the skin surface in a hot pan (no oil) to remove hair and gamy smell.
2. Boil pork
Boil then simmer pork in spring onion and ginger for 10 minutes to remove gamy smell.
3. Cut & Tie
Cut the pork into squares and tie it up into a parcel.
3. Simmer pork
Put spring onions and ginger in a pan. Cover it so that the pork does not stick to the base of the pan. Pour chinese cooking wine (I used 1 bottle).
Add dark soy and sugar.
Simmer pork for a total of 1 and a half hours. But after 1 hour, it it the other way.
4. Steam
Steam pork for 1 hour. Optional to reduce gravy.
Piglet’s feedback
Flavour and meat texture is okay.
The looks wise… Need to red cook it as it needs a red shine to it.
I spoke to others who has cooked it before and looked up online.
To make the meat ‘redder’:
- Use the sauce for fermented beancurd to make it red
- Red cook it. Caramelize the sugar and reduce dark soy
- Use red yeast powder
Will try that next time