Tiger Skin Pork
Glossy and smooth with a tiger-skin pattern; tender, soft, and richly fragrant.
Ingredients
Pork belly with skin (roasted over fire until golden, soaked until soft, skin scraped, scored in a tiger pattern)
1 kg
Pickled potherb mustard stems (roots and tips removed, cut into 2 cm segments, washed and fried until crisp)
50 g
Vegetable oil (about 100 g actually used, for frying the mustard stems)
1 kg
Cooking wine
20 g
Sugar
150 g
Salt
50 g
Soy sauce
20 g
Scallion (cut into 3 cm segments)
20 g
Ginger (smashed)
20 g
Star anise
2
Instructions
1
Step 1
Roast the pork over an open flame until golden, then soak it in warm water until soft. Scrape off the charred skin and any dirt, pat dry. Next, score the skin in a tiger pattern, rinse with clean water, and set aside.
2
Step 2
Smash the ginger and cut the scallions into 3 cm segments. Trim off the root and tip ends of the pickled mustard stems, cut them into 2 cm segments, rinse with cold water, pat dry slightly, then deep-fry in oil until crisp and set aside.
3
Step 3
Pour some water into a pot and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the soy sauce, cooking wine, star anise, sugar, scallions, ginger, salt, and the pork (skin side up). Once the broth returns to a boil, skim off the foam and simmer gently over low heat until the pork is about 3–4 done; then flip the meat and continue simmering until it is about 8–9 done. Remove the pork, place it skin side down in a bowl, pour the broth over the meat, scatter the prepared mustard stems on top, and steam over high heat for another 15–20 minutes. Finally, invert the pork skin side up onto a serving plate, transfer the broth to a wok, reduce it until thickened, and pour it over the meat to finish.
