Mei Cai Kou Rou (Hakka Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard)
The miraculous fusion of pork and takana! The Ultimate Steamed Pork by Flipping the Plate
Description
A traditional dish popular in Hakka and Sichuan banquets. 'Mei Cai' refers to sweet, sun-dried salted mustard greens. Pork belly is packed into a bowl with Mei Cai, steamed for hours, and finally inverted onto a plate. An art piece of meltingly soft pork.
Restaurants serving Mei Cai Kou Rou (Hakka Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard)
Researching
We are researching restaurants that serve this dish.
On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Skin-on pork belly block
- Mei Gan Cai
- Soy sauce
- Dark soy
- Sugar
- Star anise
- Garlic
- Ginger
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- Blanch pork belly. Brush skin with soy and pan-fry until wrinkled (Tiger Skin). Slice thickly.
- Rehydrate 'Mei Gan Cai' and mince. Stir-fry with garlic, ginger, star anise, and sugar.
- In a bowl, arrange sliced pork skin-side down in a fan.
- Dump the fried Mei Cai over it, packing it tightly.
- Drizzle a sauce of soy, sugar, and broth.
- Steam for
- hours until the pork fat melts into the Mei Cai.
- Place a plate over the bowl and confidently invert it (Kou Rou) to reveal the dome of melting pork.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Pork fat and the sweet、aged aroma of Mei Cai
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Desalt JP pickled Takana, steam together with pork belly
Pairing
White Rice / Gua Bao(steamed buns)
Trivia
[Trivia] 'Kou' refers to the technique of inverting a bowl onto a plate. Born from the wisdom of agrarian Hakka people to deliciously combine preserved dried vegetables with precious pork. It is highly auspicious.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Press with chopsticks; the pork crumbles. The pitch-black Mei Cai underneath—having absorbed the pork fat to its limit—is the true star. Piling this over white rice or sandwiching it inside a steamed bun is pure happiness.
Allergen
Pork, Soybeans, Wheat