Dongpo pork
In The Guide to Chinese Cuisine (Chêne, 2023), Handa Cheng offers a remarkable introduction to the classics of the regional cuisines of the Middle Kingdom. Here, the very popular Dongpo pork, named after the poet Su Dongpo, originally from Hangzhou (Zhejiang), in the east of the country, who is said to have invented this recipe in 1089.
Ingredients for 4 persons)
- 600 g pork belly, with rind
- 10 spring onions
- 8 slices of ginger
- 15 cl of Shaoxing wine
- 60 g of candy sugar
- 4 tbsp. to s. light soy sauce
- 1 C. to s. dark soy sauce
- 2 bay leaves
The preparation
Blanch the pork in water and let it cool in an ice bath so that it regains some firmness. Drain. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into 4 centimeter squares.
Line the bottom of a casserole dish with the spring onions (whole and folded in half) and the ginger slices. This prevents the meat from sticking, while flavoring the dish.
Optional, but it is possible to tie each piece of pork so that it keeps its shape as best as possible during cooking. Place the meat in the casserole dish, skin side down. Add Shaoxing wine, rock sugar, light and dark soy sauces, bay leaf and water to cover the meat. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for two hours over low heat.
At the end of cooking, place over medium heat so that the liquid reduces and to finish coloring. Remove the pieces of meat and continue reducing the sauce, which should be thick without being viscous (if this is the case, add a little hot water).
Dress the pork, pour the sauce and serve with white rice. Reheated the next day, this dish will be even better.
Steamed sea bream
This recipe, also proposed by Handa Cheng in The Guide to Chinese Cuisinetakes us to the coastal regions of China, where steamed fish is both an everyday and a party dish.
Ingredients for 4 persons)
- 1 sea bream
- 1 C. to c. salt
- 2 tbsp. to s. neutral oil
- Ginger
- Chives
- 3 tbsp. to s. soy sauce
- 1 C. to c. sugar
- 2 tbsp. to s. chicken stock
The preparation
Scale and gut the sea bream, gills included. Rub the exterior with salt for about ten seconds. Rinse the exterior and interior with clean water. Drain.
In a dish, distribute thin slices of ginger and spring onion sticks, then place your fish on top to flavor it.
Bring water to a boil in a steamer. Place the sea bream in the basket or steam compartment. Cover and cook for 8 minutes. Then leave to rest for 3 minutes with the heat off. Check the cooking by sticking a fork into the thickest part of the fish: if the flesh is opaque (and not translucent) and comes off easily, it is ready.
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