Inspired by our Chinese sojourn a few weeks ago, I tried this Dong Do Pork featured on Poh’s Kitchen recently. I cannot tell you how good it is, and how simple. I cooked it for two hours, several hours ahead of serving time, and just left it in the cooking pot on the cool stove-top.
Then just before serving I cranked the heat back up to warm the sauce as we carved the meat, although ‘carved’ is the wrong word really – more like ‘nudged’ and it fell apart with great lusciousness!
I doubled the sauce quantity as at first my pork belly piece seemed to sit a bit too high out of the liquid – possibly my pot was too big – but again, it worked perfectly once the liquid was doubled. Next time I’d tone down the sugar a little, but that could be just my own preference.
I did sear the meat skin-side first as per the recipe, and although as you can see my scoring and cross-hatching of skin wasn’t nearly as elegant or intricate as Poh’s, it did the job of rendering away some of the fat just fine.
Everyone who ate it loved it, and the meat itself was utterly melt-in-the-mouth. Good free-range pork no doubt helped matters.
I urge you to try it – you’ll love it.
Alongside the pork I served a little sesame cucumber salad.
One of the biggest surprises to me about Chinese food in Shanghai (and elsewhere during our previous trip) was how brilliantly and how often the Chinese use cucumber as a side dish or snack before the meal. This cucumber salad, replicated from here, is a slightly Westernised version – and it’s very good. Light and zingy and fresh, perfect accompaniment to the richness of the pork.
Cucumber salad to accompany Poh’s Dong Do Pork
- 5 Lebanese cucumbers
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons Asian sesame oil
- 2 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes, or to taste
1. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise, remove the seeds and then halve again crosswise and cut into batons.
2. Place the cucumber strips in a colander and sprinkle the salt over. Let the cucumbers sit for about 30 minutes, weighed down if you can, to allow some of the water content to leach out.
3. To make the dressing, combine all remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Lay the cucumber batons in a dish and pour the dressing over. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a few hours; serve cold as a side dish with the pork and some rice.
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That looks utterly delicious. All that yummy, melt in the mouth pork, the deep, intense sauce. Making me very hungry. I’ll have to try it this weekend. Thanks!
Love to know if you tried it, Louise. Ours was melt-in-the-mouth, as you say. mmmm…
Yes it truly was. I’ve been dreaming about it ever since.