This video demonstrates a home-style preparation of Dongpo Pork, focusing on achieving an extremely tender, non-greasy result using high-quality pork belly. The process involves meticulous preparation, including scraping the pork skin and using specific aromatics. Key techniques include searing the skin for a glutinous texture, tying the meat with traditional grain straw, and utilizing ingredients like apple and Shaoxing wine to render and cut through the fat. Although the traditional method calls for a long, slow braise (2.5-3 hours), the process is expedited using a pressure cooker due to time constraints. The finished dish features incredibly soft, melt-in-the-mouth pork that, despite its high fat content, is surprisingly non-greasy due to extensive fat rendering and skimming.
Summarizing the Dongpo Pork Preparation
0:08 Pork Preparation: The chef begins with a thick chunk of high-quality, five-layer middle pork belly. The skin is lightly scorched over an open flame and scraped clean, which helps achieve a desirable "glutinous" texture after braising.
1:17 Selecting the Meat: Emphasis is placed on using fattier cuts of pork belly, arguing that fat provides flavor, tenderness, and prevents sticking during cooking.
1:48 Cutting and Tying: The pork is cut into six large, generous chunks. They use six stalks of soaked grain straw (Gu Cao) to tie the pieces in a cross shape, which helps hold their form during cooking.
2:43 Secondary Ingredients: Smoked bamboo shoots and dried long beans (cowpeas) are prepared and will be braised alongside the pork. Sliced apple is added to the braising liquid later to help cut the greasiness.
5:04 Blanching and Stock: The tied pork is blanched, and the foam is skimmed. Since the meat is fresh, the resulting broth is retained and used as the base stock for the braising liquid.
6:12 Braising Setup: Spices (cassia, star anise, bay leaves, peppercorn, dried chili, ginger) are sautéed. The broth is combined with dark soy sauce (for color), soy sauce, sugar, salt, apple slices, and a substantial amount of Shaoxing wine (Huadiao wine), which is crucial for flavor and fat breakdown.
8:41 Traditional Cook Plan: The dish is moved to a small stove for a slow braise at barely simmering heat, planned for 2.5 to 3 hours. Excess oil is skimmed after 20 minutes.
9:17 Pressure Cooker Intervention: The long slow cook is abandoned due to time pressure. The dish is transferred to a pressure cooker for a final 40 minutes, ensuring the meat becomes extremely tender very quickly.
10:41 Fat Skimming and Finishing: After cooking, the chef skims a large amount of rendered fat (estimated at half a kilo) from the surface. The meat is removed, and the remaining sauce is reduced with the beans and bamboo shoots.
12:12 Serving and Taste Test: The pork is served over the reduced beans and shoots. The meat is described as being "as soft as tofu," falling apart easily, and, critically, "not greasy at all" (14:14), confirming the success of the wine and fat-rendering techniques.
16:22 Key Takeaway: The final product honors Su Dongpo's famous cooking philosophy: "Use less water, cook with low fire, when the time is right, flavor comes naturally."
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