Somehow, now that it is getting colder, I feel that I need to conserve my energy, eat my favourite dishes and hibernate.
The Boy will tell you (if you ask, and sometimes too willingly) that sleeping has become my favourite past time.
The conversations around the house these days are usually as follows:
The Boy: “Could you please clean the house/ wash the dishes/ cook dinner/ put up a blog posts (etc…)”
Me: “I’m too tired.. and sleepy. Please let me sleep *innocent face*
The Boy: “No.”
But luckily, he loves me enough to understand that he is living together with a warm furry bear loving and caring partner and lets me get away with most things (sometimes… occasionally… every now and then… *ahem*)
So I am indeed very fortunate to have him take care of me so. I am often quite spoilt when it comes to dinner time.
Knowing how much I love pork and sugar…. the Boy combined the two to give me a very warm welcome home (from work) recently.
So now that the weather is starting to freeze a little bit… this delightfully heart warming & nostalgic dish is the way to go!
Serve it with beautifully warm steam white rice to soak up all the delicious goodness from the gravy, this dish will be a family favourite!
Dongpo Pork (Braised Pork Belly) – A dark version
(a modified version of Poh Ling Yeow’s cookbook – Poh’s Kitchen)
Ingredients:
1kg of Pork belly – skin scored with 5mm parallel slits
4 Spring onions – sliced
12 Ginger slices – about 4mm thick
1 piece of Cinnamon stick/Cassia bark
2 pieces of Star anise
150ml of Shaoxing rice wine
4 Tbsp of Thick dark soy sauce
3 Tbsp of Light soy sauce
1 small piece (35g) of Chinese brown sugar block or 120g of Yellow rock sugar
(using Chinese brown sugar will give the dish a darker colour. It is available in most Asian groceries)
1/2 cup (125ml) of water
3 Tbsp Peanut oil
Procedure:
Heat peanut oil in a wok over medium heat. Place the pork skin side down into the wok for about 5 mins to crisp the skin up. Be prepared for some oil spitting from the wok… moisture from the pork and hot oil do not make the best of couples. It would be handy if you have a splatter guard. Turn the meat over and cook for another 5 mins. Take the pork out and rest. Keep 1 Tbsp of pork lard from the wok for the next step.
Heat 1 Tbsp of the pork lard in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger slices and spring onion and fry for 2 minutes. Add in both soy sauces, sugar, rice wine and water into the saucepan and continue to heat until sugar dissolves.
Place the pork into the saucepan and lower the heat to simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender. You will need to turn the pork over a few times during the cooking process. Add 1-2 Tbsp of water and stir the sauce to prevent it from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan. Keep a watchful eye on the sauce as it tends to burn easily. At the end, your sauce should have a dark and sticky glaze to it.
Rest the pork before serving. Cut it into long thin slices and garnish with sliced red chillies or coriander leaves.
So tell me my friends, what is it that your partner/loved one lets you get away with?
Not to mention, it adds nuance to the dish. The pian tang, I mean.
What is pian tang? Sorry 🙁
the brown sugar, I think..
Phwoar! That is one ridiculously dark, glossy, and enticing looking slab of meat… and I’m not really that into meat as a rule!!
P.S. Book post book post book post! 😛
YES YES! IT’S COMING!!! 😛 Hahahaha
Why do you always manage to cook food that I love so much! the ba chang, and now this???
I am sad now. Wanna eat them so much!!!!!
Hahaha.. there there… you’ll get it when you go home for a holiday!!
Oooh look so rich and dark that is and glistening too! I love sleeping too. I’m so grumpy when I wake up early!
Sleep is the best thing ever!
I love Dongpo pork! That looks so deliciously rich and juicy! What a great relationship you have. 😉
Thank you 🙂 I am very lucky 😛
you are one lucky girl! I do most cooking at home but to be honest, I love it… kekekeke
but sometimes Mister will whip up something quite spectacular
I used to be the cook in the house.. the dynamics have shifted for some reason.. which is fine.. I love eating just as much 😛
What a welcome home, I bet that smell gave it away before your eyes did 🙂
IT DID!! So clever!!! :))))
That meat look sinful! I’m a pork eater but I don’t think I’ve eaten something so dark looking like that before. I have got to try this soon even if I don’t have any body to do the cooking for me. 😐 Thanks for sharing this though. Cheers! 🙂
It was so amazingly delicious! Give it a go, promise you’ll like it 🙂
That looks heart-stoppingly amazing. I’m going to casually leave my computer open at this post to see if Mr Rufus will take a hint… maybe I should also make sure there is pork in the fridge. We can act out our own lame Porkstars ad.
you should! I’ll help you! MISTER RUFUS… SEE PORK! MMmMmm.. COOK PORK… MmMMmm
I ‘ve done similar dish before but i forgot and this one is very helpful.This is what i wanna cook,simple.Love it.but where dd the cinnamon go?And star anise?they weren’t mentioned in the procedure?
Thnx.
Meg
You’re welcome! You know what? I have no idea… much apologies! The star anise and cinnamon go into the pot together with all the sauces once the sugar has dissolved 🙂