Dongpo Pressed Pork
Hakka-style Dongpo steamed pork belly (kou rou): pork belly is boiled, deep-fried, and braised before being steamed in an inverted bowl and served over seasonal greens.
Ingredients
pork belly (washed, cut into 6 square pieces)
500 g
seasonal vegetables (stir-fried and used as base)
200 g
fine salt
to taste
fermented black beans
7.5 g
white sugar
4 g
soy sauce (for coloring and seasoning)
to taste
water chestnut starch (for thickening with wet starch)
15 g
MSG
to taste
cooking oil
75 g
scallion
1
chicken stock
500 g
sesame oil (not listed in original ingredients but appears in steps)
to taste
Instructions
1
Prep the Pork Pieces
Wash the pork belly, place it in a pot, boil until 40% cooked, remove and cut into 6 square pieces, then coat with soy sauce to color.
2
Fry, Braise and Press
Heat cooking oil in a wok, add the pork belly and fry until slightly golden. Remove and soak in clean water for 5 minutes, then transfer to a stew pot. Add chicken stock, white sugar, MSG, fermented black beans, fine salt, scallion and other seasonings, simmer until tender, then cover with an upside-down bowl and press.
3
Plate and Thicken Sauce
Heat a clean pan with cooking oil, stir-fry the seasonal vegetables until cooked, place them on top of the pork. Flip the entire arrangement onto a serving plate so the vegetables form the base and the pork is on top. Thicken the remaining braising liquid with wet water chestnut starch, add sesame oil, and drizzle the sauce over the dish.
