Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved Plum Vegetable Hearts

Name: Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved Plum Vegetable Hearts
Total time: 2 h 50 min
Ingredients: 1 catty Pork belly (washed, parboiled until 70% cooked, dried, marinated with light soy sauce, deep-fried until golden, chilled and sliced); 2 taels Mei cai core (washed and soaked for 20 minutes, rinsed and patted dry, minced, stir-fried briefly); 2 slices Ginger; 2 stalks Scallion; 1 tablespoon Light soy sauce (for marinating pork belly); 1.5 teaspoons Sugar (for seasoning); 1 teaspoon Cooking wine (for seasoning); 1 teaspoon Light soy sauce (for seasoning)

A classic Hakka dish of parboiled, soy-marinated, and deep-fried pork belly, sliced and steamed over water with savory mei cai cores until meltingly tender.

2h 50m

Medium

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Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved Plum Vegetable Hearts

Story

This Hakka staple turns humble pork belly into a showstopper through a deliberate, multi-step ritual. Parboiling and a soy sauce marinade prep the meat for a hot oil bath, where the skin blisters into a gorgeous golden crust. Once chilled and sliced, the pork tucks into a deep bowl, layered with quickly stir-fried mei cai—presured vegetable hearts that bring a deep, earthy salinity. A splash of the marinade mixed with sugar, wine, and more soy ties it all together before a long, gentle steam over water breaks the meat down into melt-in-your-mouth ribbons. Flipped onto a plate, it reveals a striking, gazing centerpiece.

Ingredients

Pork belly (washed, parboiled until 70% cooked, dried, marinated with light soy sauce, deep-fried until golden, chilled and sliced) 1 catty

Mei cai core (washed and soaked for 20 minutes, rinsed and patted dry, minced, stir-fried briefly) 2 taels

Ginger 2 slices

Scallion 2 stalks

Light soy sauce (for marinating pork belly) 1 tablespoon

Sugar (for seasoning) 1.5 teaspoons

Cooking wine (for seasoning) 1 teaspoon

Light soy sauce (for seasoning) 1 teaspoon

Instructions

Step 1

Wash the pork belly, put it into boiling water and cook until 70% done, then take it out. Wipe dry and place on a plate with the pork skin facing down. Add light soy sauce and marinate for 30 minutes. Put into boiling oil and deep-fry until the pork skin turns golden brown, then remove. Drain off the oil, slice after cooling, and arrange in a deep bowl.

Step 2

Mix the light soy sauce used to marinate the pork belly with the seasonings to form a sauce.

Step 3

Wash the preserved plum vegetable core and soak for twenty minutes, rinse clean and pat dry, chop, stir-fry briefly in a wok with oil, place on top of the pork belly, pour in the sauce, then add ginger and scallions on top, steam over water for 1.5 hours, remove the ginger and scallions, invert onto a plate, and serve.