Glossy cubes of mahogany-red braised pork belly in a traditional Chinese bowl with chopsticks alongside

Qing Dynasty · China

Yuan Mei's Dongpo Pork

Name: Yuan Mei's Dongpo Pork
Total time: 170 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 1 kg pork belly, skin on, cut into 5 cm cubes; 120 ml Shaoxing rice wine; 120 ml dark soy sauce; 60 ml light soy sauce; 100 g rock sugar; 4 spring onions; 6 slices fresh ginger; 2 star anise; 480 ml water

From Suiyuan Shidan · Yuan Mei · 1792

Verified from original source

Luxurious braised pork belly in soy sauce, wine and sugar until meltingly tender.

Historical note: Use pork from the back... red-cook until very tender with wine and soy sauce.

History

Dongpo Pork (dongpo rou) is a rich, slow-braised pork belly dish named after Song Dynasty poet-official Su Dongpo (1037–1101), who allegedly created or popularised it during his exile in Huangzhou. The dish became synonymous with Hangzhou cuisine, where Su later served as governor. Yuan Mei's Suiyuan Shidan (1792) records an elite Qing Dynasty version: pork simmered with soy sauce, wine, and minimal water until meltingly tender. Originally peasant comfort food, it evolved into a banquet centrepiece for literati and merchants. Modern versions remain popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, often featuring caramelised soy glaze and served with steamed buns.

Sources

Yuan Mei, Suiyuan Shidan (Recipes from the Garden of Contentment), 1792
E. N. Anderson, The Food of China, Yale University Press, 1988
H. T. Huang, Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 6: Biology and Biological Technology, Part 5: Fermentations and Food Science, Cambridge University Press, 2000
Fuchsia Dunlop, The Food of Sichuan, Bloomsbury, 2001 (contextual discussion of Jiangnan cuisine)
Michael Freeman, 'Sung', in K. C. Chang (ed.), Food in Chinese Culture, Yale University Press, 1977

Serves

Prep

15m

Cook

155m

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

· 1 kg pork belly, skin on, cut into 5 cm cubes
· 120 ml Shaoxing rice wine
· 120 ml dark soy sauce
· 60 ml light soy sauce
· 100 g rock sugar
· 4 spring onions
· 6 slices fresh ginger
· 2 star anise
· 480 ml water

Method

1
Blanch pork cubes in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain.
2
Arrange pork skin-side down in a heavy pot or casserole.
3
Add wine, both soy sauces, sugar, spring onions, ginger, star anise and water.
4
Bring to a boil, then reduce to lowest heat and simmer covered for 2 hours.
5
Turn pork skin-side up and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until sauce is syrupy.

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