Braised Pork Belly with Sweet Preserved Mustard Vegetable (Mei Cai Kou Rou)

Method22 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Keep the pork belly as one slab. Check the skin for any remaining hairs and remove them without washing the raw meat. Prepare clean equipment for handling the pork after it is cooked.

   Uses 500 g whole skin-on pork belly

2. 2

   Step 2: Soak the sweet preserved mustard (100 g) in water for 20 minutes. While it soaks, prepare steps 3–7. Open out the leaves and wash away any sand, then squeeze dry and cut into strips.

   Soak the sweet preserved mustard · 20 minUses 100 g sweet preserved mustard · Water, as needed to soak and wash the mustard

3. 3

   Step 3: Peel the ginger (3–4) and prepare the 3–4 slices for the initial pork cooking liquid.

   Uses 3–4 ginger slices

4. 4

   Step 4: Wash and trim the spring onion (1 sprig). Wash and drain the parsley (1 piece) and keep it separately for the final garnish.

   Uses 1 sprig spring onion · 1 piece parsley garnish · Water, as needed to wash spring onion and parsley

5. 5

   Step 5: Rinse the three skin-on garlic cloves, drain and smash them. Keep them ready for frying the mustard.

   Uses 3 garlic cloves, skin on · Water, as needed to rinse the garlic

6. 6

   Step 6: Mix the 1 tbsp dark soy sauce for the mustard sauce, 1½ tbsp light soy sauce, three bay leaves, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine and 300 ml water. Keep this sauce separate from the initial pork cooking liquid.

   Uses 1 tbsp mustard-sauce dark soy · 1½ tbsp light soy sauce · 3 dried bay leaves · 1 tsp sugar · 2 tbsp mustard-sauce Shaoxing wine · 300 ml mustard-sauce water

7. 7

   Step 7: If you want thicker gravy, mix the optional 2 tsp cornstarch with its separate 1 tbsp water. Set aside to stir again before the final gravy heating.

   Uses 2 tsp cornstarch, if thickening the gravy · 1 tbsp slurry water, if thickening the gravy

8. 8

   Step 8: Put the whole pork slab in a suitable pot with the ginger slices, spring onion, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine and 500 ml initial cooking water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes as a first check, continuing until the thickest centre reaches at least 63°C (145°F). Fully cook the slab before the following rest and marinade; 20 minutes alone does not establish doneness.

   Check the whole pork slab · 20 minUses All the pork belly prepared in step 1 · All the ginger slices from step 3 · The spring onion from step 4, keeping the parsley for serving · 1 tbsp initial-cooking Shaoxing wine · 500 ml initial pork cooking water

9. 9

   Step 9: Lift the fully cooked pork onto a clean plate and rest it for at least 3 minutes before continuing. Discard the initial cooking liquid, ginger and spring onion.

   Rest the fully cooked pork · 3 minUses The fully cooked pork lifted from step 8, with the cooking liquid and aromatics discarded

10. 10

    Step 10: Blot the cooked pork dry with clean paper towels. Prick the skin with a clean fork, taking care not to pierce deeply into the meat, and blot the skin thoroughly dry.

    Uses The cooked pork slab after its rest in step 9

11. 11

    Step 11: Rub the separate 1 tbsp dark soy sauce over the cooked pork skin. Leave for about 20 minutes, then blot the skin dry again. Continue with frying in the same cooking session; if there is a delay, keep the fully cooked pork promptly refrigerated rather than leaving it at room temperature.

    Marinate the cooked pork skin · 20 minUses All the dried cooked pork from step 10 · 1 tbsp pork-skin dark soy

12. 12

    Step 12: Heat the 100 ml pork-skin frying oil in a dry wok. Lower the pork in skin-side down carefully, use a splatter guard and stand clear of hot oil. Fry for about 5 minutes, checking the skin until golden brown; adjust heat to prevent burning. Lift the pork carefully, leaving unused frying oil in the wok.

    Check the golden pork skin · 5 minUses All the pork from step 11, with the skin blotted dry · 100 ml pork-skin frying oil reservoir

13. 13

    Step 13: Put the fried cooked pork into separate clean water and soak for about 20 minutes, until the skin softens and becomes slightly wobbly. While it soaks, complete steps 14–16. Drain, blot dry and cut the pork into slices about 1 cm thick.

    Check the softened fried skin · 20 minUses The pork lifted from the frying oil in step 12 · Clean water, enough for the cooked pork-skin soak

14. 14

    Step 14: Use a separate dry wok, or safely empty and dry the frying wok first. Heat the separate 2 tbsp oil and fry the prepared skin-on garlic until fragrant.

    Uses The drained garlic from step 5 · 2 tbsp mustard-frying oil

15. 15

    Step 15: Add the squeezed, sliced sweet preserved mustard to the fragrant garlic and oil. Fry for about 5 minutes.

    Fry the sweet mustard · 5 minUses All the garlic and oil from step 14 · All the drained and squeezed mustard from step 2

16. 16

    Step 16: Add all the prepared mustard sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

    Simmer the mustard sauce · 10 minUses All the wok contents from step 15 · All the sauce mixed in step 6

17. 17

    Step 17: Arrange all the pork slices in a stainless-steel bowl or other suitable heatproof dish, with the skin facing down against the bowl.

    Uses All the pork slices drained after the clean-water soak in step 13

18. 18

    Step 18: Spoon all the mustard mixture and its sauce over the pork. Press it gently into the bowl, keeping the pork skin against the bottom.

    Uses All the arranged pork from step 17 · All the mustard mixture and sauce from step 16

19. 19

    Step 19: Cover the pork dish with a stainless-steel plate and place it above boiling water in a covered steamer. Steam for 2–2½ hours from steady steam, checking from 2 hours, until the pork is very tender and the centre is at least 74°C (165°F). Maintain steady steam and prevent the base boiling dry by adding hot water below the dish only as needed.

    Check the tender steamed pork · 120 minUses All the assembled dish from step 18 · External steaming water, enough below the covered dish, with hot top-ups only as needed

20. 20

    Step 20: Using oven mitts, carefully lift out the hot covered bowl. Drain its gravy into a separate heatproof container. Place a stable, heatproof serving plate over the bowl and carefully invert the pork and mustard onto it, so the skin faces up. Remove the whole bay leaves as you find them.

    Uses All the tender dish lifted from the steamer in step 19, without external steam water

21. 21

    Step 21: If thickening the gravy, bring the reserved gravy to a gentle boil, stir the optional slurry again and add it while stirring. Cook until the gravy thickens and the starch is cooked. If not using slurry, keep the gravy unchanged and hot for serving.

    Uses The gravy drained separately in step 20, keeping the inverted pork and mustard platter aside · The slurry from step 7, only if thickening the gravy

22. 22

    Step 22: Pour the hot gravy over the inverted pork and mustard. Garnish with the parsley and serve hot, with ready cooked rice if desired. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if the room is above 32°C (90°F), at 4°C (40°F) or colder; use within 3–4 days or freeze. Reheat leftovers to 74°C (165°F).

    Uses All the gravy from step 21, with or without the optional slurry · The inverted pork and mustard from step 20, with gravy finished separately · The washed parsley from step 4, whose spring onion was used earlier · Ready cooked rice, as desired for serving