Dongpo Braised Pork Belly 东坡肉
Dongpo Braised Pork Belly is featured among the local specialties of Hubei.
Dongpo Braised Pork Belly (东坡肉) has a Huangzhou (黄州) version documented in Huanggang (黄冈). In a June 2022 demonstration, chef Zhang Bin (张彬) used black pig pork from the Dabie Mountains (大别山), choosing meat with alternating fat and lean for a soft, yielding result.
How it is made
Zhang trims the pork, singes the remaining hairs from its skin, then scrapes and washes it. The meat is steamed for forty minutes and spread out to cool. He pierces it with a bamboo skewer to release fat before cutting it into cubes about two centimetres on each side.
The cubes then cook for ninety minutes with seasonings. Zhang finishes by adding bamboo shoots and broccoli and steaming the dish for another half-hour. He describes the intended texture as rich without greasiness, with lean meat that does not become dry and crumbly.
Where it comes from
Hubei Daily (湖北日报) connects the Huangzhou name with Su Shi (苏轼), who wrote about patiently cooking pork during his exile there. Hubei Daily also describes local cooks developing those cooking ideas into the dish now associated with Huangzhou.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-27. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.
Image credits & notes (1)
- Serving example. Dong Po PorkPhoto: Archon6812 · Public domainResized for the web; the photo itself has not been edited.
