Dishes
Dongpo braised pork belly
東坡肉
Also called: Dongpo pork · Dong Po rou
Thick squares of pork belly braised slowly in rice wine, soy and rock sugar until they melt.
Photo: bryan... from Taipei, Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: bryan... from Taipei, Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: superturtle, CC BY 2.0What it is
A Hangzhou dish of skin-on pork belly cut into thick squares, half fat and half lean, and red-braised until glossy and very soft. Japan's kakuni is related to it.
Where it comes from
Tradition credits the Song poet Su Shi (Su Dongpo), who is said to have created it during his exile in Huangzhou or, in another story, as a reward for workers dredging Hangzhou's West Lake. Chinese Wikipedia notes that the poem usually cited as proof may not be his, and that the name 東坡肉 first appears in Ming-dynasty writing.
How it is made
The pork is braised slowly over low heat with yellow rice wine, rock sugar and soy sauce, using little water, until it is tender and the sauce is thick.
How to eat it
Plain rice suits it, or tuck a piece into a steamed bun.
In Tainan
Zhu Xin Ju in Tainan serves it as part of its banquet-style set menu. Some diners, its chef says, call it 'pork ice cream'.
Where to eat it in Tainan
Sources