Chinese Braised Pork Belly (Dong Po Rou) (東坡肉)
This recipe for Chinese Braised Pork Belly (Dong Po Rou) is a luscious, decadent dish of pork belly slow-cooked with the flavors of soy and various spices.
Servings 10
Calories 574kcal
Ingredients
Seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (紹興酒)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (鹽)
- 4 tablespoon soy sauce (醬油)
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (老抽)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (黑胡椒)
Pork belly:
- 1000 g pork belly (豬腩肉) cut into large chunks (1" x 1.5")
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil (菜油)
- 100 g rock sugar (冰糖)
- 5 cloves garlic (蒜) minced
- 10 g ginger (薑) thinly sliced
- 3 stalks green onions (蔥) cut into 1" lengths, white part
- 4 star anise (八角)
- 1 teaspoon fennel powder (茴香粉)
- 2 bay leaves (月桂樹葉)
- 1 teaspoon sand ginger powder (沙薑粉)
- 2" length cinnamon stick (肉桂) or cassia bark
- 2 small pcs orange peel (橙皮) (chen pi)
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn (四川芲椒)
Other:
- 1 bunch green onions (蔥) for laying in the bowl (green part)
- 8 Chinese mushrooms (冬菇) optional; soaked in warm water and drained
Instructions
Seasoning:
- In a bowl, combine Shaoxing wine, salt, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and black pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Prepare pork belly:
- Wash and clean pork belly.
- Cut into 1" squares with 1 ½" height.
- Place pork belly in a pot of cold water. Turn on the heat and boil the pork for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse well.
Cook the sauce:
- Heat 3 tablespoon of oil in a wok, add in rock sugar and stir fry until sugar is caramelized into deep golden amber color.
- Add in garlic, ginger, green onion, star anise, fennel, bay leaves, sand ginger powder, cinnamon stick, orange peel and Sichuan peppercorn. Stir fry until fragrant.
- Add in pork belly and fry until golden in color. Add in Shaoxing wine and all the seasoning, until pork belly is well coated and turns into a darker color.
- Add enough water to cover the pork. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 60-90 minutes, until pork belly is softened and sauce is reduced.
- Add in Chinese mushrooms if using, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat.
Assemble & braise:
- Place a layer of green onions on the bottom of a heat-safe bowl.
- Arrange pork belly with skin side down in the bowl. Pour all the sauce over the pork belly if there is any. Add Chinese mushrooms on the top and nestle them around the sides.
- Add a metal trivet to the pressure cooker with about 1.5 C of water. Braise the pork belly in an Instant Pot pressure cooker using the STEAM function for 1 hour.
- Alternatively, steam over a large pot/wok on the stove top for 2 hours, or until soft and tender. If using the stovetop, add more water to the pot/wok during steaming.
- Once finished cooking, invert cooked pork belly onto a large serving plate, along with the sauce.
- Serve with steamed rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 574kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 595mg | Potassium: 273mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 73IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg