东坡肉 Dongpo Pork

[Ho Kwok Leung]

东坡肉
此菜相传出自宋代大文学家苏东坡的故事。宋元祐年间(约公元1090年)，苏东坡出任杭州刺史，发动民众疏浚西湖，大功告成，为犒劳民工，吩咐家人将百姓馈赠的猪肉，按照他总结的经验：慢著火少著水，火候足时他自美，烹制成佳肴。与酒一起分送给民工，家人误将酒肉一起烧，结果肉味特别香醇可口，人们传颂东坡的为人，又将此独特风味的块肉命以“东坡肉”，经历代厨师的不断总结发展，而被公推为杭州第一名菜。

食材
猪五花肋肉1500克

调料：
白糖100克，
绍酒250克，
酱油150克，
姜块50克，
葱50—100克。

烹飪方法
1.
将猪肉刮净皮上余毛，洗净后放入沸水锅氽约3—5分钟，煮出血水，捞出切成20个小方块。
2.
取大沙锅1只，用小竹架垫底，铺上葱、姜块（去皮拍松)，将猪肉皮朝下排放在葱、姜上，加入糖、酱油、绍酒，再放入葱结，加盖用旺火烧沸，密封沙锅边缝，置文火上焖2小时左右，启盖，将肉块翻身（皮朝上），继续加盖密封焖至酥熟，将沙锅端离火，启盖，将肉分装入特别的小陶罐中，撇去肉汁上的浮油，将汤汁分装入罐，加盖密封，用旺火蒸半小时左右至肉酥透即可。

【掌握关键】
1.
原料必须选用皮薄、肥瘦相间的新鲜猪肋条肉（以金华“两头乌”猪为最佳)，经氽煮定型，再用直刀切成大小均匀的方块（块的大小也可根据各人的爱好改刀）。
2.
以酒代水（也可加少许水），调料必须一次加足，以突出醇香的地方风味。
3.
焖蒸结合掌握好火候，用旺火煮沸，小火焖酥，再用旺火蒸至酥透，才能达到肉酥烂而形不变，油润不腻入口香糯的要求。

烹飪解說
醬油是同時兼備生抽和老抽，可改用生抽和老抽


**Dongpo Pork**

This dish is said to originate from a story about Su Dongpo, a renowned literary figure of the Song Dynasty. During the Yuanyou era of the Song Dynasty (around 1090 AD), Su Dongpo served as the prefect of Hangzhou. After organizing a successful dredging of West Lake, he instructed his family to prepare pork gifted by the locals as a reward for the laborers. Following his cooking philosophy—"low flame, little water, and ample time make it perfect"—the pork was stewed into a savory dish and distributed with wine. By accident, his family cooked the pork with wine, resulting in exceptionally aromatic and tender meat. To honor Su Dongpo’s generosity, people named this uniquely flavored braised pork "Dongpo Pork." Over generations of refinement by chefs, it has become recognized as Hangzhou’s signature dish.

**Ingredients**
- 1500g pork belly (rib section)

**Seasonings**
- 100g sugar
- 250g Shaoxing wine
- 150g soy sauce
- 50g ginger (peeled and smashed)
- 50–100g scallions

**Cooking Method**
1. Scrape off any remaining hairs from the pork skin. Rinse the pork, blanch in boiling water for 3–5 minutes to remove impurities, then drain and cut into 20 equal cubes.
2. Place a small bamboo steamer rack at the bottom of a large clay pot. Layer scallions and ginger, then arrange the pork skin-side down over them. Add sugar, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Cover with scallion knots, seal the pot lid tightly, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 2 hours. Flip the pork pieces (skin-side up), reseal, and continue simmering until tender. Remove from heat, transfer the pork to small clay jars, skim off excess fat from the sauce, and pour the sauce over the pork. Seal the jars and steam over high heat for 30 minutes until fully tender.

**Key Tips**
1. Use fresh pork belly with thin skin and even fat-to-lean ratio (preferably from Jinhua “liangtouwu” pigs). Blanch to firm the meat before cutting into uniform cubes (size adjustable to preference).
2. Substitute water with wine (a small amount of water may be added). Seasonings must be added all at once to enhance the rich, aromatic flavor.
3. Master the heat: boil on high, simmer on low, then steam on high. This ensures tender meat that retains its shape, with a glossy, non-greasy texture and melt-in-the-mouth consistency.

**Cooking Note**
The soy sauce used here combines light soy sauce (*shengchou*) and dark soy sauce (*laochou*). Adjust proportions as needed.