Dongpo Pork
Skin-on pork belly in 4 cm cubes, braised skin-down on scallion and ginger with wine, soy sauce, sugar and water, reduced, then sealed in clay jars and steamed
Preparing 3DThe ingredients and steps are below if you want to start there
Drag to rotate · Click a label for the amountDrag sideways to turn · tap a label for the amountTap a dot for the amount · drag sideways to turn
About this source
- Issued by the Hangzhou Administration for Market Regulation; proposed by the Hangzhou Bureau of Commerce; drafted by the city’s catering association and others
- In force since 30 Nov 2024; the full text can be read free online on China’s national standards platform. Ingredients, amounts, equipment and steps all follow it
Not in the source — added by us (3)
- Times given in the standard are used as-is: about 5 min blanching, 1–1.5 h braising (75 min in the animation), 30 min steaming. Steps marked “est.” are our estimates; the second braise has no time, so we use 45 min (its appendix says two hours of braising)
- Heat levels follow the standard (high to boil, low to braise, medium-high to reduce, high to steam). Step temperatures are illustrative values for the animation; only the 60–75°C serving temperature is from the standard
- The standard doesn’t say how many pieces or jars a batch makes; the 3D shows one jar of 4 pieces, and its look and colors are ours
Ingredients
Numbers match the labels on the 3D model
2000 g- 01Pork belly2 kg, in 4 cm cubesSkin-on belly, ribs removed; the 3D shows a single jar
- 02Braising liquidabout 1.5 L water, reducedThe braising liquid, reduced and spooned into the jars
- 03Shaoxing wineabout 550 mlThe standard recommends Shaoxing wine
- 04Soy sauceabout 150 mlThe standard suggests a local soy sauce such as Huyang
- 05White sugarabout 200 gGoes in with the wine and soy sauce
- 06Scallionscooking onlyabout 150 g, knottedSome line the pot, the rest go on top; only pork and sauce go into the jars
- 07Gingercooking onlyabout 90 g, smashedGoes under and over the pork with the scallions
- 08Blanching watercooking onlyas needed (not specified)Not used again once the pork comes out
Cooking order
13 steps · about 2 h 40 min – 4 h 10 min total (some estimated)
● in the source our estimate
The “look for” cues follow the cited source but haven’t been checked line by line by a cook yet; those marked ○ are our own additions.
The doneness cues haven’t been translated yet, so they’re shown in the original Chinese.
Take the ribs out of the belly; wash the scallions and ginger, tie the scallions in knots and smash the ginger
Put the pork into boiling water for about 5 minutes to draw out the blood
Look for血水煮了出来source
Look水面浮起灰褐色浮沫，肉表面整体发白、收紧our estimate
焯约 5 分钟
Lift it out, scrape any hair and grime off the skin, and wash it in warm water
Skin side up, trim the four edges square, then cut into 4 cm cubes
Cover the bottom of the pot with scallions and ginger, then lay the cubes on top, skin side down
Add ~550 ml wine, ~150 ml soy and ~200 g sugar, ~1.5 L water to cover, then scallion knots and ginger; cover
Bring to a boil over high heat, then uncover and skim off the scum
约 10–20 分钟（估：2 kg 肉加两升多汤水，砂锅升温慢）
Cover, seal the gap around the lid and braise on low for 1–1.5 hours, until the pork is about 80% tender
Look for肉焖到八成酥source
Touch筷子从瘦肉那面插进去：能插进，但还要稍用力；按肉皮有点软，仍有韧劲our estimate
Look开盖看：汤色转深红褐，肉皮从白转红、开始起皱our estimate
小火焖 1–1.5 小时
If you see… (3 cases)
Tip The standard quotes the old saying: “a slow fire, little water — given time, it turns out perfect”
Uncover, turn the pork skin side up, seal the lid again and keep braising on low until tender
约 30–60 分钟（标准没写这一步多久；附录说一共「用微火焖两小时」，减去第一次的 1–1.5 小时估出来）
If you see… (3 cases)
Tip The standard gives no time for this; its appendix says to braise for two hours on a low flame, so we estimate 45 minutes
Skim off the fat, then reduce over medium-high heat until thick; turn off the heat
约 5–15 分钟（估）
Put the pork skin side up into clay jars and add the sauce; seal with peach-blossom paper and put the lids on
Steam over high heat for 30 minutes, until the pork is tender through
旺火蒸 30 分钟
Serve in the jars, within 10 minutes of leaving the steamer
Look for汤汁不再冒泡，表面还没凝出油层our estimate
Temp有温度计时用这个：最佳食用温度 60–75 °Csource
出锅到上桌不超过 10 分钟
If you see… (3 cases)
- 刚出笼，罐子烫手、汤还在冒泡: 稍等一两分钟再端，小心烫↻ keep going with this stepour estimate
- 汤汁不再冒泡，表面还没凝出油层（有温度计时：60–75 °C）: 连陶罐一起上桌→ you’re doneour estimate
- 放凉了，汤汁表面凝出一层油: 盖好罐子回笼蒸几分钟再上桌→ step 12our estimate
Tip The standard gives 60–75°C as the best eating temperature