Dong Po Pork 

History:

This dish is named after Song Dynasty poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, statesman, and history’s first travel writer Su Dongpo, meaning "Resident of Dongpo." Su Dongpo is said to have created this dish now known as "the perfect pork" on accident. The legend has it that Su Dongpo was making stewed pork when he was challenged to a game of Chinese chess. Eventually he began to smell the pork which he had forgotten about, and after checking it realized that the layers of meat had become one perfect piece of pork. The cooking process takes 24 hours when done right.

Recipe serves: 4

Ingredients:  

1 kg (2.2 lb) piece pork belly

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon tea leaves

4 stalks spring onion

7 cm (3") length fresh, young ginger, sliced lengthways into matchstick widths

Cooking:

Garnish with young ginger slivers, which are meant to be eaten.

Put the pork back in the pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Heat a wok and add the sauce ingredients. Mix well and bring to a boil. Add the pork and cook each surface for a few minutes over a medium heat. Remove pork and drain well. Pour the remaining sauce into a small saucepan and set aside.

Clean and drain the wok. Heat the vegetable oil to a medium heat. Fry the pork on all sides until it is well browned, making sure the skin side is a little crispy.

Steep the tea leaves in hot water for a couple of minutes, remove and set aside. Place the pork in the pot of water again-topping up the water if necessary. Add the tea leaves and simmer for 30 minutes.

Place the spring onion stalks on the bottom of a steamer. Transfer pork to the steamer. Steam for 2 hours, turning pork after 1 hour (because of the long steaming time, you may need to replenish the steamer water).

Add the broccoli to the steamer for the final 5 minutes of cooking time (boil it separately for 3 minutes if there is no ream in the steamer).

Remove the pork to a serving dish and arrange the broccoli around it. Reheat sauce in the saucepan, adding and stirring in the thickening.  Pour over pork and serve.

 History: This dish was created by the Meimen restaurant to promote a healthy lifestyle. The vegetables have a special significance in this dish. Meimen restaurant promotes eating “colors” that promote health. These colors promote a more balanced diet as well as eating a variety of vegetables. In this dish the cucumber is Green, the carrot is Red, bean sprouts are White, mushrooms are Balck, and bean curd is Yellow. 

Recipe Serves: 2

 Ingredients:

1 Cucumber 

1 Carrot 

1/2 lb of Bean sprouts

3 mushrooms 

1 brick of bean curd (dried tofu)

1/2 pound of Chow Mein noodles

4 tablespoons Soy Beans

Preparation: Cut all the ingredients into very small pieces for better digestion. For the bean sprouts, only slice of the ends. Boil the Chow Mein noodles and then rinse them with cold water. Then fry the mushrooms in soy sauce to give them flavor. 

Sauce Ingredients: 

1/4 cup of Soy Sauce

1/4 cup of White Vinegar

1/4 cup of Sesame Sauce

Preparation: Mix together

Cooking: 

Take the bowl full of boiled chow mein noodles and place the vegetables on top in small piles. The order is very important:

Green: Cucumbers

Red: Carrots

Yellow: Bean curd

White: Bean Sprouts

Black: Fried Mushrooms 

Then place the soy beans in the center and pour sauce over top. 

Enjoy!

Spicy Horse-head Fish

Recipe Serves: 4 

 Ingredients:

2 Horse-head fish

4 oz. Soy sauce

4 oz. Seafood sauce

Diced Bamboo and Carrots

8 cloves Garlic

4 oz. Chile Sauce

Diced Green Onions

4 mushrooms 

1 bottle of Rice wine

1 bottle of Shaoshing wine

1 cup of white vinegar 

2 cups of corn starch 

Cooking Directions: Cover the entire fish in corn starch to preserve the skin. Warm a pan of vegetable oil and then fry the fish for 1 minute then remove. In a new pan use 1/2 cup of oil to fry the garlic until golden, then remove. Add the chile sauce and green onions to a hot pan and cook for 30 seconds, then add the soy sauce, seafood sauce, rice wine, shaoshing wine, vinegar, mushrooms, bamboo, and carrots,  then add the golden garlic as well as the fish. Cook together for 3 minutes and then place on plate to serve. 

Enjoy!