Dong Po (Chinese Pork Belly)

In this recipe for Chinese-inspired pork belly, the meat is cooked three different ways, with a final long simmer that makes beautifully tender meat.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 2 hr
• Total Time: 2 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 578 Calories

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound raw pork belly
• 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 8 spring onions, sliced
• 0.25 cup light soy sauce
• 0.25 cup dark soy sauce
• 0.5 cup Chinese rice cooking wine
• 3.5 ounces Chinese rock sugar

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Slice pork belly into 2-inch wide strips. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and stir in pork slices; reduce heat to a simmer, and cook the meat for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and blot dry with paper towels.

Step 2

Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large wok. Brown pork strips well on all sides. Pork will splatter — use a splatter shield for this step.

Step 3

While pork is browning, mix together light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, rock sugar, ginger, and spring onions in a large soup pot or stockpot. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and lay the pork strips into the liquid. Cover, and simmer until the meat is very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add water as needed to keep the liquid from going completely dry.