Hangzhou Dongpo Pork Belly with Soy and Rock Sugar

What you need

• 450 g (1 lb) skin-on pork belly, in one piece
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 3 stalks scallions, cut into 7 cm lengths
• 3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 3 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) rock sugar, lightly crushed, plus extra to taste
• 750 ml (3 cups) water, about, enough to cover the pork

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Drop the pork belly into a pot of rapidly boiling water and blanch it for 5 min. Drain, rinse and pat dry, scraping off any hairs on the skin.

2. 2

   Cut the pork into 6 cm squares. Tie each one with kitchen string like a parcel so it keeps its shape during the long braise.

3. 3

   Heat the oil in a clay pot or heavy saucepan just wide enough to hold the pork in one layer. Fry the ginger and scallions until fragrant, about 1 min.

4. 4

   Pour in about half the water and boil for 10 min to flavor it.

5. 5

   Add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and rock sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.

6. 6

   Lay the pork in skin side down and add enough of the remaining water to just cover it. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 min.

7. 7

   Turn the heat down to a bare simmer, cover and braise for 30 min.

8. 8

   Turn the pork skin side up, cover again and braise for 1.5-2 hours, until it is very tender and a chopstick slides through skin, fat and meat with no resistance.

9. 9

   Lift out the pork and snip off the string. Boil the sauce uncovered until it turns glossy and slightly syrupy, 5-10 min, adding a little more sugar if it tastes too salty.

10. 10

    Spoon the sauce over the pork and serve with steamed rice.

Imported from internationalcuisine.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.