Dongpo Pork

Overview

Su Dongpo of the Song Dynasty was one of the eight great writers of the Tang and Song Dynasties. His lyrics were equally outstanding with Xin Qiji's, and his calligraphy and painting were also unparalleled. Even in the art of cooking, he is also good at it. When he offended the emperor and was demoted to Huangzhou, he often cooked dishes by himself to enjoy with his friends. Su Dongpo was best at braised pork. He once wrote a poem to introduce his cooking experience: slow the fire and use less water. When the fire is sufficient, it will be beautiful. However, it is said that the cooking of Dongpo Pork, which was named after him, was an interesting thing that happened when he returned to Hangzhou for the second time to serve as a local official. At that time, more than half of the West Lake was submerged by wormwood. After he took office, he mobilized tens of thousands of migrant workers to remove farmland, dredge the lake port, pile up the excavated mud into a long embankment, and build bridges to smooth the lake water, restore the beauty of the West Lake, and store water for irrigation. This piled embankment improves the environment, brings water conservancy benefits to the people, and adds to the scenery of the West Lake. Later, the Spring Dawn on Su Causeway was formed, which was listed as the first of the ten scenic spots in West Lake. At that time, the common people praised Su Dongpo for doing this good thing for the local area. They heard that he liked braised pork, and during the Spring Festival, they all sent him pork to express their appreciation. After Su Dongpo received so much pork, he felt that it should be shared with the tens of thousands of migrant workers dredging the West Lake, so he asked his family to cut the meat into cubes, cook it using his cooking method, and distribute it to each household along with the wine according to the roster of migrant workers. When his family was cooking the braised pork, they cooked it together with the wine. As a result, the braised pork was even crispier and more delicious. The diners praised the cooking method of the meat Su Dongpo sent for its uniqueness and deliciousness. People praised him and anecdotes spread. Among the people who came to Su Dongpo for advice at that time, in addition to those who came to learn calligraphy and writing articles, there were also people who came to learn how to cook Dongpo meat. On the Lunar New Year's Eve, every household makes Dongpo Pork. It has become a custom to express the memory of him. Now it has become a traditional famous dish in Hangzhou.

Tags

• hot dishes
• huadiao wine
• onions
• pork belly
• rock sugar
• ginger
• salt
• soy sauce

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 A whole piece of pork belly is ready

   

2. 2 Blanch the pork belly and set it

   

3. 3 Cut the pork belly into pieces of about 3 cm

   

4. 4 Place a layer of broken bamboo skewers on the bottom of the pot

   

5. 5 Spread the green onions and ginger on the bamboo skewers

   

6. 6 Arrange the pieces of meat, skin side down

   

7. 7 Add soy sauce and Huadiao wine

   

8. 8 Add rock sugar and salt to the heat, bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat, simmer for 1.5 hours, turn over halfway, with the skin of the meat facing up. I don’t know why the pictures of this process are not saved, the camera failed, and the stewed meat pieces were moved to the plate

   

9. 9 Remove the original soup juice from the bamboo skewers and green onion and ginger and pour it over the meat. Place it in a steamer, cover it with plastic wrap and steam it for an hour

   

10. 10 Steamed Dongpo Pork

    

11. 11 Fat but not greasy