Dongpo Rou (Hangzhou Red-Braised Pork Belly)

About This Recipe

Dongpo rou is the most famous dish of Hangzhou — and arguably the masterpiece of all Chinese red-braised pork dishes. It is named for the 11th-century Song dynasty poet, statesman, and gourmand Su Dongpo, exiled to Hangzhou, who according to legend developed the recipe when grateful villagers brought him pork as a gift. The technique is exacting: a thick slab of skin-on pork belly is blanched, scrubbed, tied into a cube with kitchen string to hold its shape during the long cook, and then braised — undisturbed — in a small clay pot with Shaoxing rice wine, dark soy, light soy, rock sugar, scallion, and ginger for at least two hours. The cube emerges glossy mahogany, the fat translucent and gelatinous, the skin yielding like custard, the lean meat threaded through with sauce. It is served one cube per person on a small plate with a spoonful of the reduction — never eaten with rice flooded with sauce. The texture is the legend: properly cooked dongpo rou should tremble when you set the plate down, the fat dissolving on the tongue.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 800 gskin-on pork belly in one thick slab (about 5 cm thick)
• 300 mlShaoxing rice wine (good quality — the dish depends on it)
• 60 mldark soy sauce (老抽 lao chou)
• 30 mllight soy sauce (生抽 sheng chou)
• 60 gyellow rock sugar (bing tang)
• 8scallions, whole, tied into a bundle
• 1 thumbginger, sliced into thick coins
• 3star anise
• 1 smallstick cinnamon (cassia)
• 200 mlwater, plus more if needed
• kitchen string for tying
• tiny steamed buns (mantou) or jasmine rice, to serve
• blanched bok choy or Chinese broccoli, to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch and clean the pork

   Place the pork belly slab in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil, skim the scum, and boil 5 minutes. Remove and rinse under cold water. Scrape the skin with a knife to remove any residue. Pat dry.

2. 2

   Cut and tie

   Cut the blanched pork belly into 4 large cubes, each about 5×5×5 cm. Tie each cube tightly with kitchen string both around the equator and pole-to-pole, like a small parcel — this holds the cube together through the long braise.

   Don't skip the tying. Untied pork belly falls apart and you lose the iconic cube shape.

3. 3

   Line the pot with aromatics

   Choose a small heavy clay or enameled pot just large enough to hold the 4 cubes snugly in one layer. Lay the scallion bundle and ginger coins across the bottom — they act as a 'rack' to prevent the pork from scorching.

4. 4

   Arrange the pork

   Place the four tied cubes skin-side DOWN on top of the aromatics. The skin will absorb the sauce most deeply this way during the first hour.

5. 5

   Add the braising liquid

   Pour in Shaoxing wine, dark soy, light soy, and water. Add rock sugar, star anise, and cinnamon. The liquid should come about three-quarters up the side of the pork — top up with water if needed.

6. 6

   First braise — skin down

   Bring just to a simmer over medium-high, then immediately drop to the lowest possible heat. Cover. Cook 90 minutes — do not lift the lid or stir. The liquid should barely tremble.

7. 7

   Flip and continue

   After 90 minutes, very carefully flip each cube skin-side UP using two spoons. Cover and simmer another 60–75 minutes. The pork should be deeply red-brown and yielding to a light touch.

8. 8

   Reduce the sauce

   Carefully remove the pork cubes to a serving dish. Remove and discard the scallion bundle, ginger, and spices. Crank heat to high and reduce the braising liquid 5–8 minutes until syrupy and glossy — it should coat the back of a spoon and pool around the meat like dark honey.

9. 9

   Glaze and serve

   Spoon the reduced sauce generously over each cube. Serve immediately, one cube per plate, with blanched greens and small steamed buns or rice on the side. Cut string at the table.

Variations

• •

  Suzhou variation uses dark brown sugar instead of rock sugar for a deeper caramel note.

• •

  Some Hangzhou chefs first deep-fry the pork briefly before braising to add a crisper exterior.

• •

  Mao's red-braised pork (hong shao rou): smaller cubes, no string, more chili and star anise — a Hunan adaptation.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days; flavor improves overnight. Reheat gently — never microwave or boil (fat splits). Freezes well 2 months; thaw fully before reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions