Mei Cai Kou Rou (Hakka Steamed Pork with Preserved Greens)
International dishesSteamed DishesChinaabout 4 hours
Mei cai kou rou steams pork belly until it gives way against the tongue. The best part is the wrinkled skin, swollen with sauce, sitting over salty sweet preserved mustard greens. The hard part is the skin, which is boiled, rubbed with dark soy sauce, air dried, then fried until it blisters.
The skin has to be completely dry before it meets the oil. Any moisture left on it makes the oil spit and keeps the skin flat. The common mistake is cutting the steaming short, which leaves the meat chewy and the greens still holding back their flavor. Give it 2 to 4 hours and top up the water so the pot never runs dry.
This batch weighs about 920g, at roughly 387 calories per 100g.
Method
Boil 600g pork belly with 3 slices of ginger and 1 spring onion, skin side down in just enough water to cover, until the meat is cooked through.
Lift the pork out, rinse it under cold water, then prick the skin all over.
Rub 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce over the whole piece and set it on a rack to dry for 15 to 20 minutes.
Lay the pork skin side down in hot oil, cover the pan and fry over high heat for about 5 minutes until the skin puffs and crisps.
Soak the whole piece in ice water for about 3 hours, then cut it into slices about 1cm thick.
Mix the sauce from 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, then marinate the pork for 20 minutes.
Heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil, fry 1 tablespoon minced ginger and 1 tablespoon minced garlic until golden, add 80g soaked mei cai and toss for 30 seconds, then add 3 bay leaves and 2 star anise.
Pour the marinade off the pork into the pan, bring it to a boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and lift out the bay leaves and star anise.
Pack the pork slices neatly into a bowl, skin side down.
Cover the meat completely with the greens and sauce and press it down firmly, arrange the star anise and bay leaves on top, scatter over 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and cover with foil.
Steam over medium heat for 2 to 4 hours, topping up the water now and then, until the meat is meltingly soft.
Drain all the liquid from the bowl into a pot, bring it to a boil, then stir in 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water until the sauce thickens.
Invert the bowl onto a large plate so the pork keeps its shape with the skin facing up, then spoon the thickened sauce over.
Tips
The skin needs to be fully dry before it goes into the oil, since wet skin spits and refuses to blister.
An ice water soak after frying drives deep wrinkles into the skin, which open up during the long steam.
Dried mei cai takes several changes of water to rinse out the salt and the grit.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend is a fine powder, so it dissolves straight into the hot sauce. Scattering it evenly over the greens is enough.
Made a day ahead and steamed through once more, this dish comes out softer and deeper in flavor.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.