Dongpo rou (东坡肉) is named for the Song Dynasty poet-official Su Dongpo (Su Shi), who is credited with its creation during his governorship of Hangzhou — a preparation of pork belly slow-braised for 3 hours in a tightly sealed pot with Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, rock sugar, and aromatics, until the pork is so tender that it yields at the gentlest pressure of a chopstick while retaining its shape. The skin must be silkily gelatinous, the fat must be meltingly soft and sweet, and the lean meat must remain moist and flavourful despite its long cooking. It is the defining preparation of Jiangnan red cooking.
The preparation: Blanch a 1kg piece of pork belly (with skin) in boiling water for 5 minutes to remove impurities. Drain and rinse. Tie the pork belly with kitchen twine — this maintains its shape during the long braise. The braise: In a heavy braising pot (ideally a clay pot or enameled cast iron), place the pork belly skin-side down. Add 300ml Shaoxing wine, 50ml dark soy sauce, 50ml light soy sauce, 50g rock sugar, 3 scallion stalks, 4 slices fresh ginger. The liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the pork. Bring to a boil. Seal the pot tightly — traditionally with a flour-and-water paste that hardens around the lid to create an airtight seal. Transfer to a steamer or reduce heat to absolute minimum. Cook 2.5-3 hours. The finish: Carefully unseal and remove the pot lid — hot steam. Turn the pork belly skin-side up. Skim the fat from the braising liquid. Reduce the liquid until glossy and sauce-like. Serve the pork belly in its pot with the reduced sauce poured over.
Insufficient cooking time: The full transformation of the collagen in the skin and fat into gelatin requires a minimum of 2.5 hours. Insufficient sealing of the pot: Any steam escaping reduces the liquid too much and can cause the pork to dry out.
Fuchsia Dunlop, Land of Fish and Rice (2016); Fuchsia Dunlop, Every Grain of Rice (2012)