Dong Po Pork

See those two mahogany strips of pork belly in the photo above?  I know, they don't look like much, but they are the most flavorful bites of pork ever.  We had delectable Dong Po Pork, baby bok choy in oyster sauce and fried savory taro cake for Chinese New Year dinner this year--Year of the Rooster! 

We also made Hong Kong style egg tarts and sticky rice cakes with red bean paste. It was so good! Have your own Chinese feast in the Year of the Rooster!

Dong Po Pork
Serves 4

1 lb pork belly
3 Tblsp peanut oil
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
½ cup Chinese rice cooking wine
3 ½ oz Chinese rock sugar
1” piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
8 green onions, sliced

Slice the pork belly into 2” wide strips. Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop in the pork slices. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the meat for 10 minutes. 

Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and let dry on paper towels.

Heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat in a large wok or heavy frying pan. Brown the pork well on all sides. Use a spatter shield for this step.

While the pork is browning, mix together the tamari, rice wine, rock sugar, ginger and green onions in a large soup pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to a simmer and lay the pork strips in the liquid.  Cover and simmer until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add water as needed to keep the sauce from scorching.

Serve hot over rice.