Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens

梅干菜扣肉

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens — Jiangsu-ZhejiangShaoxing, Zhejiang home cooking.

Ingredients

• pork belly, skin-on, cut into 4 cm cubes
• preserved mustard greens (meicai), rinsed and chopped fine
• light soy sauce
• Shaoxing wine
• rock sugar

Instructions

1. Blanch pork belly cubes in boiling water with 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine for 3 minutes. Skim foam, then rinse under cold water. Pat dry thoroughly. (Foam rises to surface; meat turns opaque gray-white)
2. In a wok over medium heat, sear pork cubes on all sides until golden-brown (about 6 minutes total). Remove and set aside. (Deep golden crust forms; small droplets of fat bead on surface)
3. In same wok, stir-fry chopped meicai over medium-low heat until fragrant and slightly darkened (4–5 minutes). Add light soy sauce, remaining Shaoxing wine, and rock sugar; simmer 1 minute. (Meicai deepens to olive-brown; aroma becomes nutty and earthy)
4. Return pork to wok. Add just enough hot water to cover ¾ of meat. Bring to gentle simmer, then transfer to a lidded ceramic bowl. (Liquid simmers with steady, tiny bubbles—not rolling boil)
5. Cover bowl tightly with foil or lid. Steam over boiling water for 2.5 hours, checking water level every 45 minutes. Meat should be tender enough to collapse with light pressure. (Fat renders into translucent layer; meat fibers visibly separate)