Dongpo pork (), also known as Dongpo meat, is a

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

dish which is made by pan-frying and then red cooking

pork belly Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless and fatty cut of meat from the belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in Hispanic, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, Korean, Thai and Filipino cuisine. Regional dishes France In Alsatian ...

. The pork is cut thick, about square, and should consist equally of fat and lean meat. The skin is left on. The mouthfeel is oily but not greasy and the dish is fragrant with

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

. The dish is named after the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

poet and gastronome Su Dongpo.

Origins

Legend has it that during Su Dongpo's life of poverty during his banishment to

, he improved on the traditional process. He first braised the pork, added ''

huangjiu ''Huangjiu'' (), meaning yellow wine, is a Chinese alcoholic beverage, and is most popular in the Jiangnan area. ''Huangjiu'' is brewed by mixing boiled grains including rice, glutinous rice or millet with qū as starter culture, followed by ...

'' (yellow wine) to make red-braised pork, then slowly stewed it on low heat. In their scholarly work ''Chinese Gastronomy,'' Lin Hsiang Ju and Lin Tsuifeng give the recipe "The Fragrance of Pork: Tungpo Pork", and remark that the "square of fat is named after Su Tungpo, the poet, for unknown reasons. Perhaps it is just because he would have liked it."Hsiang-Ju Lin and Tsuifeng Lin, with a Foreword and Introduction by Lin Yutang, ''Chinese Gastronomy''. New York,: Hastings House, 1969. ; various reprints), p 55. Dongpo Pork experienced three phases of popularity, from first appearance to mainstream appreciation. The history of the dish is said to parallel the experiences of Su Dongpo: from

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

, a northern city of

Jiangsu province Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

, where Dongpo pork first appeared under the name of Huizeng pork; to Huangzhou, today

Huanggang Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang. It borde ...

Hubei province Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

, where Su Dongpo finalized the method and recipe; and, finally, to

, where Dongpo pork was officially named and became widely known across China.

References

External links

How to make Dong Po Rou
{{Su Shi Hangzhou cuisine Chinese pork dishes Su Shi

Origins

See also

References

External links