Mei Cai Kou Rou, a dish of braised and then steamed pork belly, holds a high position on the Chinese comfort food list. It’s also a celebratory dish suitable for a Chinese New Year dinner or other special occasion.
A dish that makes you miss the motherland if you’re Chinese, a dish that makes you miss your childhood if you’re me, and a dish that makes you miss Yong He Da Wang (a fast food chain in China that does a pretty good job with this steamed pork belly dish) if you’re Kaitlin.
Note: This post was originally published in January 2015. We have since updated it with more information about preparing the preserved vegetables, clearer photos, and metric measurements. The recipe is still the same. Enjoy!
A Showstopping Dish
Mei Cai Kou Rou is a dish that looks labor intensive. You can tell your guests that you slaved over the stove all day!
In actuality, the hardest part of this dish is washing the preserved vegetables (it’s really important to wash them thoroughly).
That said, if you’d like an even easier version of this dish, try our braised pork belly with meigan cai, where the pork belly is cooked in smaller pieces.
Ultimately, this is a very special Chinese pork belly recipe. The preserved mustard greens really add a flavor that is unique and very addictive.
How to Prepare Meigan Cai
Okay, let’s talk about how to prepare these dried vegetables. They tend to be quite sandy, and you don’t want any sand in your final dish!
- First, you need to soak them for up to 5-6 hours in a large basin.
- Second, you must wash them 6-7 times, until the water is completely clean.
Washing them in a colander under running water won’t be enough. Get the largest bowl or basin you have, and soak/rinse them at least 6 times.
While it may seem like a lot of work, it’s really only a few minutes of active prep.
I used to buy the dried mustard greens that came in a box, and they seemed to be better quality than the brands that come in a plastic bag. If you can find that one, get it!
Mustard greens can also be salty (different brands have varying levels of saltiness, and much of that salt gets stripped away in the washing process), so make sure to add soy sauce gradually, and taste along the way.
Mei Cai Kou Rou: Recipe Instructions
Prepare dried preserved mustard greens. Soak for 5-6 hours.
Then wash them in a large basin of water 6-7 times to get rid of all sand and dirt. Drain and set aside.
Put the pork belly in a pot, and cover with cold water. Add the ginger slices and star anise. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 35 minutes. Take the pork out and set aside.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Brown the pork on the skin side first, and then the other sides.
Once browned, add a teaspoon of dark soy sauce and a tablespoon water. Carefully coat the pork in the liquid. Turn off the heat and let the pork cool in the wok.
Carefully slice the pork into ½-inch pork belly slices. Arrange them neatly in the bottom of a shallow heat-proof bowl.
In the wok, add another tablespoon of oil and the rock sugar. Cook the sugar until it melts and turns a caramel color. Add the minced ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the preserved vegetables, and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add a tablespoon of dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine and 1 cup chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.
Spoon the preserved vegetable mixture over the pork belly slices in the bowl. Spread it evenly to cover all the pork.
Put the bowl in a steamer and steam for 75 minutes. See our post on how to set up a steamer if you’re not familiar with steaming foods in Chinese cooking.
Remove the bowl from the steamer. Carefully pour off any excess liquid into your wok (you’ll use this liquid to make the sauce).
Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. Stir in the cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon of cornstarch combined with 1 tablespoon of water) to thicken it.
Cover the bowl of steamed pork belly with your serving plate and flip it over onto the plate.
Pour the sauce over the dish and serve. This steamed pork belly dish is glorious with a bowl of white rice!
Mei Cai Kou Rou (Steamed Pork Belly w/ Preserved Mustard Greens)
Ingredients
- 6 ounces dried preserved mustard greens (about 3 cups after rehydrating)
- 1 ½ pounds pork belly (boneless, skin-on)
- Water
- 2 slices ginger about 1/8-inch thick, 2 inches long (0.3 cm thick/5cm long)
- 2 star anise
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 teaspoons dark soy sauce (divided)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar (or preferably rock sugar)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 1 tablespoon water)
Instructions
- Prepare preserved greens. Soak for 5-6 hours. Then wash them in a large basin of water 6-7 times to get rid of all sand and dirt. Drain and set aside.
- Put the pork belly in a pot, and cover with cold water. Add the ginger slices and star anise. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 35 minutes. Take the pork out and set aside.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Brown the pork skin side first, followed by the other sides. Once browned, add 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce and a tablespoon water, and carefully coat the pork in the liquid. Turn off the heat and let the pork cool in the wok.
- Carefully slice the pork into ½-inch slices, and arrange them neatly in the bottom of a shallow heat-proof bowl. In the wok, add another tablespoon of oil and the sugar. Cook the sugar until it melts and turns a caramel color. Add the minced ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the preserved vegetables, and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the remaining dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.
- Spoon the preserved vegetable mixture over the pork belly in the bowl and spread evenly to cover all the pork. Put the bowl in a steamer and steam for 75 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the steamer and carefully pour off any excess liquid into your wok (you’ll use this liquid to make the sauce). Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, and add the cornstarch slurry to thicken it. Cover the bowl of pork with your serving plate and flip it over onto the plate. Pour the sauce over the dish and serve. This dish is glorious with a bowl of white rice!
