My own personal humble additions to the ramen universe.
Dong Po (Chinese Pork Belly)
50g of sake, 50g of mirin, 200g of light soy sauce, 30g of caster sugar, 2 star anise, 4 bay leaves, 1l water, 6 eggs, fridge cold, 6 bamboo shoots, whole (available in asian supermarkets), 400ml of vegetable oil, or another neutral oil, 1 garlic bulb, cloves peeled and finely chopped.
Recipe Summary Dong Po (Chinese Pork Belly)
Named after an ancient Chinese statesman, poet and gourmand of the Song Dynasty, the pork belly is cooked three different ways, rendering the meat succulent, tender and very flavorful. (If you can't find pork belly, ask the butcher; it is what bacon is before it is cured and sliced.)Ingredients | Pork Belly Ramen Wagamama
1 pound raw pork belly
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup light soy sauce
¼ cup dark soy sauce
½ cup Chinese rice cooking wine
3 ½ ounces Chinese rock sugar
1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
8 spring onions, sliced
Directions
Slice the pork belly into 2-inch wide strips. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and stir in the pork slices; reduce heat to a simmer, and cook the meat for 10 minutes. Remove from the water, and blot dry with paper towels.
Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large wok, and brown the pork strips well on all sides. Pork will splatter - use a splatter shield for this step.
While pork is browning, mix together the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, rock sugar, ginger, and spring onions in a large soup pot or stockpot. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, and lay the pork strips into the liquid. Cover, and simmer until the meat is very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add water as needed to keep the liquid from going completely dry.
Chinese rock sugar is available at specialty and Asian grocery stores. If you can't find it, substitute brown sugar.
A dash of five-spice powder is delicious, but not traditional. I like to quickly stir-fry some vermicelli with some of the remaining liquid and serve the pork on top.
Info | Pork Belly Ramen Wagamama
prep:
15 mins
cook:
2 hrs
total:
2 hrs 15 mins
Servings:
6
Yield:
6 servings
