Dongpo Elbow Recipe
When I was a child, every Chinese New Year, my family would always put a big plate of bright red and fragrant Dongpo pork elbow. That is the most beautiful taste in my memory, as if it can travel through time and space and take me back to that Chinese New Year full of laughter and joy. Today, I want to share this beauty with everyone.
Why I love this recipe
Dongpo pork elbow is a classic traditional delicacy from Sichuan, famous for its unique cooking skills and delicious taste. There is a heartwarming story behind its name. According to legend, this dish was created by Su Dongpo, a famous writer in the Northern Song Dynasty.
It is said that when Su Dongpo was working in Huangzhou (now in Hubei), he missed the food of his hometown and tried to cook it himself. He stewed the pork until it was soft and then added various seasonings to create this tasty and mellow dish. Because of its unique flavor and love for this dish, later generations named it "Dongpo elbow" to commemorate this great writer.
The production process of Dongpo pork elbow is very particular. It requires the use of high-quality pork elbows. After careful cooking, the meat is tender and not broken, the skin is thin and shiny, the color is ruddy, and the taste is mellow. This dish not only tests the chef's skills, but also the ultimate pursuit of ingredient selection and heat control.
Ingredients Needed and Substitutions
Ingredients needed to make the perfect Dongpo pork elbow include:
Main ingredients:
Pork elbow: Pork elbow is tender and can increase the taste and chewiness of dishes.
White beans: Rich in protein and fiber, they provide a nutty taste and rich nutritional value to dishes.
Seasoning:
Ginger , green onion, and cooking wine : remove fishy smell and enhance fragrance, providing unique flavor to dishes.
Substitutes:
White lentils: can be replaced with potatoes, yams, etc.
Cooking wine: can be replaced by white wine or rice wine .
How to prepare pork elbow
To make Dongpo pork elbow, the processing of the elbow is the key. The following are the processing techniques of pork elbow:
Cleaning: Rinse the elbow with clean water to remove surface dirt and impurities.
Hair removal: You can use tools such as flame or hair scraper to remove the hair on the elbow surface. When burning the hair, pay attention to controlling the heat to avoid burning the elbow. After shaving, rinse it with clean water.
Blanching: Put the pork elbow in a pot, add cold water, ginger slices, scallion segments, cooking wine, etc., boil over high heat, skim off the foam, and blanch for 5-10 minutes. This step can remove the blood and odor of the pork elbow.
Scrape the skin: After blanching, use a knife or scraper to scrape off the skin on the surface of the elbow. This can remove the fishy smell of the elbow and make the elbow more flavorful.
Drain: After cleaning , take out the elbow and dry the surface moisture with kitchen paper or a clean towel.
Tips for Success
Key tips:
1. Select the right ingredients
Choose fresh pork elbows with firm and elastic meat, which is the basis for ensuring the taste of the elbows.
2. Blanch thoroughly
When blanching the pork elbow, use cold water, add ginger slices and cooking wine, bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam. This will effectively remove blood and fishy smell.
3. Slow Cook
When stewing the pork elbow, use low heat and simmer for 1.5-2 hours, until the meat is tender but not lost its shape, so as to ensure the taste of the pork elbow.
4. Seasoning step by step
Add salt and other seasonings in stages during the stewing process to avoid adding salt at the beginning which will cause the meat to tighten and affect the taste.
5. Use spices
Add appropriate amount of ginger slices and scallion segments to enhance the flavor. You can also add star anise, cinnamon and other spices according to personal taste to enhance the overall flavor.
6. Control Moisture
Pay attention to the moisture in the pot during the stewing process. Cover it appropriately if necessary, but leave a gap to prevent the soup from overflowing.
7. Finally, collect the juice
When the elbow is almost cooked, you can turn up the heat to reduce the sauce, making the meat more flavorful and making the surface of the elbow more bright red and attractive.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
-
·1000g Pork elbow
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·30g White Beans
Accessories
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·15g ginger
-
·15g green onion
Seasonings
-
·30ml Cooking wine
-
·3g Salt
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Ingredients preparation: Cut 15g ginger into slices, cut 15g green onion into sections, and soak 30g white lentils in clean water for 20 minutes.
Step 2
Remove the fishy smell from pork elbow: Add 1.5 liters of water to the pot, put in 1000g of pork elbow, pour in 20ml of cooking wine, cover the pot, cook until boiling and continue cooking for a while to remove blood and impurities.
Step 3
Transfer ingredients: Take out the pork elbow and put it into the casserole, and also put the soaked white lentils into the casserole.
Step 4
Add seasoning (I): Place the prepared ginger slices and green onion segments into the casserole.
Step 5
Add seasoning (II): Then add 10ml cooking wine and 3g salt to add flavor to the pork elbow.
Step 6
Stew until the pork elbow is tasty: Add an appropriate amount of the original soup scooped out from the pot where the pork elbow is cooked into the casserole, cover the pot, and simmer over low heat for 2 hours to allow the pork elbow to fully absorb the flavor and become soft and delicious.
Serving Suggestions
Staple food:
Dongpo pork elbow with rice is a classic choice. The soft and sticky rice can neutralize the greasiness of the pork elbow, and every mouthful of rice is wrapped with the meaty aroma of the pork elbow, which makes people eat it with satisfaction. Especially the fragrant rice with distinct grains, after absorbing the soup of the pork elbow, the taste is superb.
It can also be paired with lotus leaf pancakes. Put the pork elbow in the lotus leaf pancakes, add some shredded green onions and cucumbers, etc., just like eating Peking duck. The soft and fragrant lotus leaf pancakes and the mellow pork elbow complement each other, and the taste is rich.
Vegetables:
The freshness and crispness of cucumber can well dissolve the greasiness of pork elbow. The sour and sweet salad and pork elbow together form a wonderful balance in the mouth.
Stir-fried seasonal vegetables such as broccoli and kale are also good. These vegetables are rich in dietary fiber, and their fresh taste can relieve the heaviness of the elbow and make the whole dining process more comfortable.
Serving Suggestions:
Temperature: Dongpo pork elbow is best eaten hot. When it is steaming hot, the meat is fragrant and has a soft and glutinous texture. However, if there are leftovers, the pork elbow has a different flavor after being refrigerated. The meat has a firm texture after being frozen, which is also worth a try.
Tasting order: You can first taste a piece of original pork elbow to feel its mellow meaty aroma and soft and glutinous texture. Then eat it with the side dishes to experience the rich layers of different ingredients. When eating, it is best to chew slowly and savor the feeling of the meat melting in your mouth.
Serving size: Since Dongpo pork elbow is greasy and high in calories, it is best to eat it in moderation. If you are sharing with multiple people, each person can take according to their own appetite, but don't eat too much at one time to avoid feeling too greasy.
FAQs:
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