GONG XI FA CAI! 恭喜发财！

I’ve decided to continue the Chinese recipes in lieu of Chinese New Year. If I were to bring a dish to a potluck party, this braised pork belly – Hangzhou style 東坡肉 – would be my signature dish. It is very special to me – proven to be successful in making friends (LOL). This dish has also earned me a decent boyfriend. Now his family refers to me as DPR, i.e. Dōng Pō Ròu – I kid you not, that’s what his grandmother called me last year.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, families gather (from near and far) for a reunion dinner. This dinner is often considered as the most important meal of the year. This year is the first reunion dinner where I have contributed a dish, which is this braised pork belly. I am very happy that my relatives enjoyed and gave praises to me. I look forward to making this dish for every reunion dinner now. 🙂

In Chinese cuisine, there are many different yet similar ways to braise pork belly. For example, the Shanghai style red-braised pork belly, also known as 红烧肉, is basically a variation of the Hangzhou style, 東坡肉. The red-braised pork belly produces a brighter red colour, which can be achieved by using more light soy sauce compared to dark soy sauce. On the other hand, the Dōng Pō Ròu has a darker brown colour as more dark soy sauce is added for braising.

The braising of the pork belly is best done using a slow cooker or a crock pot. The slow braise enhances the flavour and creates a very tender texture. Alternatively, the simpler way is to cook it in a normal pot with a lid.

Hangzhou-style Braised Pork Belly, 東坡肉 (Dong Po Rou)

The slow-braised tenderized pork belly in brown sauce, melts in your mouth with sweet & salty taste. This Chinese dish is perfect with a bowl of white rice or steamed buns (Man-Tau).

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asia, Chinese, Hangzhou

Keyword Pork

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 10

Servings 8 servings

Calories 790kcal

Author SforB

Ingredients

1 kg Pork belly
8 slices Ginger , sliced
3 bunch Spring onions
480 ml Shao xing rice wine
3 tbsp Dark soy sauce
150 ml Light soy sauce
130 g Rock sugar
1 Big red chili (optional)

Instructions

Wash and blanch the pork belly in boiling water for 3 minutes, removing any impurities. Remove the pork belly and cut them into smaller cubes, around 3 by 3 inches.
Prepare a medium-sized crock pot or saucepan. * Wash and cut the spring onions into ~4cm length. Place a layer of spring onions covering the entire base of the pot. Then, top it off with the ginger slices (and chili, if any) – as shown in the picture.
Place the pork belly pieces, skin-side down, on top of the spring onions and ginger. Add the Shao xing rice wine, dark & light soy sauce into the pot. Scatter the rock sugar on top of the pork belly pieces.
Place the pot under medium-high heat. Once the liquid starts to boil, reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot with lid and simmer for 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes, flip the pork belly pieces in the pot to skin-side up. Continue to simmer over low heat for another 90 minutes.
The pork belly pieces are ready to be served as they are. Otherwise, option to cut them with a kitchen scissors into even smaller pieces.

Notes

* It is important to not have a pot that is too big in size – the pork belly should be placed in the pot without stacking, but there should not be too much extra space.

Volume to metrics Conversions can be found here.

7 Comments

RC Perry

8th July 2020 at 05:55 Reply

Hi S,

Thank you sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to make this dish! I do have two questions:

1. Red Chili is listed in the ingredient list, but not in the instructions. Should I put it in the pot in step 3?
2. 480 ml (2 cups) Shao xing rice wine seems like a lot when the soy sauce is only 200 ml. Is that the right amount?

Ruth

SforB

8th July 2020 at 11:35 Reply

Hi Ruth, thanks for your questions! I’ve amended the recipe to include the red chili now. TBH it’s fully optional, it just gives that slight kick in spice. As for the shao xing rice wine, yes it does include that much. It eventually evaporates a little.

KC

13th May 2019 at 22:01 Reply

Easy to make and tastes amazing!

Anonymous

18th February 2019 at 14:59 Reply

How can I replace the rock sugar?

SforB

18th February 2019 at 16:18 Reply

The ingredients in this recipe are equally important to keep the dish traditional. I would recommend to not substitute the rock sugar.. However, if you must, normal white sugar should do the trick.
- Co
  
  29th November 2020 at 03:31 Reply
  
  Hi S, this dish looks awesome! Can I ask if your recipe is using a slow cooker? Thanks!
  - SforB
    
    31st December 2020 at 12:45 Reply
    
    Hi Co, you dont need a slow cooker for this 🙂