Yongding Dried Vegetable Braised Pork

Yongding Dried Vegetable Braised Pork

　　Yongding dried vegetables are both sweet and tangy in flavor

　　The production of Yongding dried vegetables is meticulous and refined. Around the Qingming Festival each year, premium local leafy greens grown along picturesque mountain slopes and by babbling brooks—characterized by their large heads, long leaves, and short stems—are selected. These undergo a series of processes including peeling, salting, kneading, deboning, steaming, sun-drying, and are then sprinkled with rice wine before being sealed in jars. Once opened and ready to eat, they emit a rich aroma and offer delicious flavors.

　　Yongding dried vegetables are highly nutritious and appetizing. Studies have shown that they contain nutrients such as protein, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. They can be used to braise pork belly: first apply a bit of rice wine to the skin of the fatty and lean marbled pork, then fry it in vegetable oil until pale yellow. Slice the pork and place it at the bottom of a bowl, with Yongding dried vegetables on top of the meat. Add seasonings (excluding salt), steam until cooked, and the result is aromatic, tasty, not greasy, and does not spoil easily. They can also be stir-fried with lean meat or green peppers, offering a unique flavor. Adding an appropriate amount of dried vegetables to lean meat soup, egg soup, mushroom soup, or tomato soup enhances their natural umami. For braised pork belly: wash pork belly with five layers of fat, boil it in hot water until 70% cooked, then remove and drain. Use 15g of soy sauce to evenly coat the pork skin, then air-dry. Place a wok over medium heat, add 15g of refined lard, and heat until 80% hot. Add the pork belly and fry until the skin bubbles and turns reddish-brown. Pour it onto a strainer to drain excess oil, then slice it into 3cm-long and 1cm-wide strips.

　　Soak and soften selected Yongding dried vegetables from Fujian, rinse, squeeze dry, and chop into fine pieces. Remove the membrane from mackerel, and slice it. Place a wok over low heat, add 15g of refined lard, and heat until 70% hot. Add the fish slices along with sugar and 35g of soy sauce, stir-fry until the meat turns dark red. Add minced garlic, mackerel slices, and cooking wine, then continue stir-frying for 5 minutes. Scoop in bone broth, simmer for 5 minutes, remove all ingredients, and add chopped dried vegetables to the simmering sauce. Simmer briefly before removing.

　　Place the simmered pork slices skin-side down into a bowl, arrange minced garlic and mackerel slices on top, spread the chopped dried vegetables over the surface, drizzle with the simmering sauce, and steam in a steamer over high heat for 1 hour. After steaming, pour out the steaming liquid, invert the bowl onto a serving plate. Place the wok over high heat, bring the steaming liquid to a boil, thicken with a diluted starch slurry, and drizzle over the Yongding dried vegetable braised pork to finish.