Mei Cai Kou Rou is a classic Hakka dish. The pork belly is deep-fried and then steamed until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender—rich but not greasy. The preserved mustard greens soak up all the meat juices, making it incredibly savory and fragrant. Every bite with rice is pure bliss. It looks complicated, but it’s actually just three steps: boil, fry, and steam.
Prep time: 40 minutes | Cook time: 2 hours | Serves: 4
🌴 Ingredients:
· Pork belly, 500g (about 1.1 lb; skin-on, with alternating layers of fat and lean, in one square block)
· Preserved mustard greens (Mei Cai), 80g (about 2.8 oz; soaked in advance. Sold in vacuum-sealed packages at Asian grocery stores. Do not substitute with fresh mustard greens or kimchi.)
🌴 Aromatics:
· Sliced ginger, 4–5 slices (about 15g)
· Scallion stalks, 2 (about 30g)
· Star anise, 2 (about 2g)
· Cinnamon stick, 1 small piece (about 3g)
· Bay leaves, 2 (about 0.4g)
· Sichuan peppercorns, a few (about 1g; optional, for steaming to cut the richness)
🌴 For Boiling the Pork:
· Cooking wine, 2 tbsp (about 30ml)
· Ginger slices, a few
· Scallion stalk, 1
🌴 Seasonings:
· Light soy sauce, 3 tbsp (about 45ml)
· Dark soy sauce, 1½ tbsp (about 22.5ml)
· Oyster sauce, 1 tbsp (about 15g)
· Fermented bean curd liquid (or ½ block crushed fermented bean curd), 1 tbsp (about 15ml; highly recommended. If unavailable, you can use regular soy sauce, but the fermented bean curd adds a unique umami flavor.)
· Sugar, ½ to ⅔ tbsp (about 6–8g; keep it savory, not too sweet)
· Cooking wine, 1 tbsp (about 15ml)
· Salt, none or to taste at the end
· Cooking oil, as needed (for frying)
All spoon measures are level. Light soy sauce is thin and salty—use it as listed for the best flavor.
🌴 Instructions:
- Soak the Mustard Greens
Soak the preserved mustard greens in warm water for 30 minutes until soft. Rinse them several times to remove any sand, squeeze out the excess water, and chop them finely. ⚠️ Tip: Preserved mustard greens can be sandy, so wash them thoroughly. Squeeze out the water before stir-frying so they don’t release moisture and can absorb the meat juices better. - Boil the Pork Belly
Place the whole block of pork belly in a pot with cold water. Add ginger slices, scallion segments, and 2 tbsp cooking wine. Bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, and boil for 20 minutes, until a chopstick easily pierces the skin and lean meat with no bloody water oozing out. Remove, let it cool, and pat the surface completely dry with paper towels. ⚠️ Tip: Over-boiling makes it hard to slice; under-boiling means it won’t get soft after frying. Let it cool before frying so the skin tightens up. Pat it dry to prevent dangerous oil splatters. - Fry the Skin
Prick the skin all over with a fork. Heat oil in a wok until slightly smoking. Place the pork belly skin-side down in the oil, and immediately cover with a lid. Turn to medium-low heat and fry until the skin is golden and bubbly. Remove and plunge it into a bowl of ice water. Soak until the skin wrinkles and the “tiger skin” pattern appears. ⚠️ Tip: Pricking helps it bubble evenly. Covering the wok prevents dangerous oil splatters. Make sure the oil is hot before adding the meat. The ice water must be very cold—the extreme temperature difference is what creates the tiger skin. - Slice the Pork
Let the fried pork belly cool completely (or chill it in the fridge for a bit), then cut it into thick slices about 5mm (¼ inch)—don’t cut them thinner than 3mm. Cut with the skin-side down for better grip. ⚠️ Tip: Slices that are too thin will fall apart when steamed. Cooling makes them easier to cut neatly. Skin-side down prevents the knife from slipping. - Make the Sauce
In a bowl, mix 3 tbsp light soy sauce, 1½ tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp fermented bean curd liquid, ½ to ⅔ tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp cooking wine. Stir well. ⚠️ Tip: Mix the sauce first for even flavor. You likely won’t need salt—the soy sauces, oyster sauce, fermented bean curd, and preserved greens are all salty. Taste first before adding. - Stir-fry the Mustard Greens
Heat a wok and dry-fry the mustard greens first to release their aroma. Then add a little oil, ginger slices, star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add 1 tbsp light soy sauce and a pinch of sugar, and stir-fry until evenly combined. ⚠️ Tip: Dry-frying makes them more fragrant and helps them absorb the meat juices. The greens are already salty, so use little to no salt. Sauté the spices until fragrant before adding the greens. - Assemble the Bowl
Take a large bowl and arrange the pork slices skin-side down neatly at the bottom. Top with the stir-fried mustard greens and press down firmly. Reserve 2 tbsp of the sauce to drizzle before steaming, and keep the rest for making a gravy after steaming. ⚠️ Tip: Skin-side down ensures a beautiful presentation when inverted. Pressing the greens down keeps them from scattering. Using the sauce in two stages distributes the flavor more evenly. - Steam
Cover the bowl with a plate or heatproof plastic wrap, and steam over boiling water. Turn to medium-low heat and steam for 1.5–2 hours. To cut the richness, you can place a slice or two of ginger and a few Sichuan peppercorns on top of the greens. ⚠️ Tip: Covering prevents steam from dripping in and diluting the flavor. The longer it steams, the softer it gets. A pressure cooker can reduce the time to 40 minutes. - Invert and Serve
Once steamed, remove the bowl and pour the juices into a small bowl or pan. Place a serving plate over the bowl, quickly invert it, and remove the bowl. Thicken the reserved juices with a light cornstarch slurry (or just pour them back over as is—it’s still delicious), and pour over the pork. Garnish with chopped scallion. ⚠️ Tip: Pouring out the juices first prevents a messy spill when inverting. A light slurry helps the sauce cling to the meat—don’t make it too thick.
💡 Tips:
Wash the preserved mustard greens thoroughly to remove sand, squeeze them dry, and dry-fry them before stir-frying with oil. Boil the pork belly until a chopstick pierces it easily. Let it cool, pat it dry, prick the skin, and fry skin-side down in hot oil—immediately cover the wok with a lid to prevent oil splatters. Plunge it into ice water to create the tiger skin. Let it cool before slicing into 5mm thick pieces. Mix the sauce in advance and hold off on the salt. Arrange the pork skin-side down and press the greens firmly. Cover the bowl while steaming to keep the moisture out. Steam for 1.5–2 hours (or 40 minutes in a pressure cooker). Pour out the juices before inverting, and thicken them into a light gravy to pour over the top. Done this way, the meat is tender, flavorful, rich but not greasy, and melts in your mouth!
This Mei Cai Kou Rou is tender, flavorful, and rich but not greasy—a classic Hakka hearty dish. If you like this style of steamed pork, you can also try my previously posted Steamed Pork with Rice Flour (Steamed Pork with Rice Flour). For more classic hearty dishes, check out my Main Dishes (Main Dishes) category!
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