Dongpo Rou

Ingredients

• 900g pork belly in one piece, skin on
• 20 spring onions, trimmed
• 8 thick slices ginger
• 480ml Shaoxing wine
• 150ml light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 120g rock sugar
• kitchen string
• steamed greens or plain rice, to serve

Before you cook

• Cut the pork belly into eight squares of about 6cm, keeping the skin attached to every piece.
• Tie each square in a cross with kitchen string so it holds its shape through the long braise.
• Lay the trimmed spring onions in a thick mat across the base of a heavy casserole.
• Cover the spring onions with the ginger slices.

Steps

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and lower in the tied pork squares.
2. Boil for two minutes, then lift the pork out and rinse each piece under warm water to wash off the scum.
3. Arrange the pork skin side down on the bed of spring onions and ginger, packed in a single snug layer.
4. Pour over the Shaoxing wine and both soy sauces, then tuck the rock sugar in around the meat.
5. Cover the casserole and bring it to the boil over medium-high heat.
6. Turn the heat as low as it will go and simmer for ninety minutes without stirring; the onions underneath stop the pork catching.
7. Turn each piece of pork skin side up with tongs, taking care not to tear the skin.
8. Cover the pan again and simmer for a further ninety minutes, until a chopstick slides through the meat with no resistance.
9. Lift the pork carefully into a heatproof serving bowl and spoon over enough braising liquid to come halfway up the sides.
10. Steam the bowl of pork over high heat for thirty minutes to settle the fat and deepen the colour.
11. Strain the remaining braising liquid into a pan and boil it hard for eight to ten minutes, until it is syrupy enough to coat a spoon.
12. Snip off the strings, pour the reduced sauce over the pork and serve with steamed greens or plain rice.