This Chinese braised Pork Belly with Pickled Mustard Greens (酸菜卤肉饭) is savory, tangy, and perfect over rice. This is the time of year to make it, so grab a package of sour pickled mustard greens, some pork belly, and warm up your kitchen with this recipe!
I remember having it while living in Beijing, at a Chinese fast food chain called 真功夫 (Zhēn Gōngfū), which served it during the winter months. This dish has been on my mind ever since, so suffice it to say, creating a recipe for it has been on my to-do list for almost 10 years.
A Treasured Combination
Rich meats and pickled vegetables are a common combination across many cuisines around the world. Think hot dogs and sauerkraut, pâté and charcuterie with cornichons or pickled onion, or kimchi and Korean BBQ.
The tang of the pickled vegetables wakes up your taste buds and cuts through the heaviness of the meat, making for a balanced, satisfying dish. I think the taste is incredibly savory—dare I say refreshing—and addictive.
Here are some good examples of this combination across recipes from various regional cuisines on our site:
- Hunanese: Pickled Long Beans with Ground Pork
- Cantonese/Hakka: Chicken with Pickled Mustard
- Shanghainese: Noodle Soup with Pork and Pickled Greens
- Dongbei (Northeast China): Sour Cabbage Pork Belly Stew
- Taiwanese: Beef Noodle Soup with Pickled Greens (see also, the pickled greens served with a Taiwanese Pork Chop)
I absolutely love this recipe, and I know you will too—especially if you love tangy flavors.
What Type of Pickled Mustard?
You may find several different products labeled “pickled mustard” at the Chinese grocery store.
For this recipe, you’re looking for vacuum-sealed packages of pickled mustard stem. Or you can use our homemade haam choy. Follow Bill’s grandmother’s recipe to make it yourself!
Here’s another store-bought brand that you can look for:
Note!
One of the important steps of this dish is to cook the pickled mustard greens separately. I’ve learned this from Bill’s aunt. She said that pickled mustard greens must be stir-fried in a little bit of oil to dry out any liquid. This way, the pickled mustard greens can better absorb the flavor of the pork. In other words, no shortcuts!
Braised Pork Belly with Pickled Mustard Greens: Recipe Instructions
In a colander, rinse the pickled mustard greens a couple times. This reduces some of their saltiness and sourness (rinse more times if you are sensitive to salt). Then squeeze out any excess liquid from the greens with your hands. Cut the stem portion of the greens into ½-inch pieces. Chop the leaf portions a bit larger, so they don’t fall apart during cooking.
Cut the pork belly into ½-inch (1.25cm) thick pieces.
Put the star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and Sichuan peppercorns into a small tea filter bag (those designed for loose leaf tea), or tie them into a small piece of cheesecloth with kitchen string.
Add the pork belly to a medium pot with enough water to cover. Bring it to a boil. Once boiling, immediately drain the pork belly through a colander, rinse clean, and set aside. This will give the dish a cleaner flavor and appearance.
Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a wok over medium-low heat, and add the rock sugar. Cook until the sugar melts into an amber-colored liquid, and then add the pork belly.
Increase the heat to medium-high, and cook for a few minutes to lightly brown the edges of the pork belly pieces.
Then add the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and 2 (or 3 if you want more sauce) cups of water. If you are not using a wok, use 1½ to 2½ cups of water. (The liquid won’t cook off as quickly in a thick-bottomed pot.)
Add the spice packet you prepared earlier. Then bring the contents of the wok to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Cook the ginger slices for 1 minute. Increase the heat to high, and add the pickled mustard greens. Stir, and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the greens are dry and you start hearing a popping sound from the greens in the pan. Remove from the heat. This step is key!
Once the pork has simmered for 35 minutes, remove the spice packet, and stir in the cooked pickled greens with the ginger.
Simmer for another 15 minutes, or longer if you like the pork belly really tender. I don’t like this dish to be too saucy, but I understand it’s nice to have sauce to go with your rice. Feel free to adjust the sauce level by adding more water if it is too dry (or by turning up the heat to cook off the liquid if it’s too wet).
Serve with steamed rice!
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Recipe
Braised Pork Belly with Pickled Mustard Greens (酸菜卤肉饭)
Ingredients
- 17 ounces pickled mustard greens (酸菜 – 1 package)
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skin-on pork belly (can also use skinless pork belly)
- 2 star anise
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as avocado, canola, or vegetable oil)
- 1.4 ounce rock sugar (or substitute 3 tablespoons granulated sugar)
- 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2-3 cups water
- 5 slices ginger (about 2 inches/5cm long, ⅛-inch or 3mm thick)
Instructions
- In a colander, rinse the pickled mustard greens a couple times, to reduce some of their saltiness and sourness (rinse more times if you are sensitive to salt). Then squeeze out any excess liquid from the greens with your hands. Cut the stem portion of the greens into ½-inch pieces, and cut the leaf portions a bit larger, so they don’t fall apart during cooking.
- Cut the pork belly into ½-inch (1.25cm) thick pieces. Put the star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and Sichuan peppercorns into a small tea filter bag (those designed for loose leaf tea), or tie them into a small piece of cheesecloth with kitchen string.
- Add the pork belly to a medium pot with enough water to cover. Bring it to a boil. Once boiling, immediately drain the pork belly through a colander, rinse clean, and set aside. This will give the dish a cleaner flavor and appearance.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a wok over medium-low heat, and add the rock sugar. Cook until the sugar melts into an amber-colored liquid, and then add the pork belly. Increase the heat to medium-high, and cook for a few minutes to lightly brown the edges of the pork belly pieces.
- Then add the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and 2 (or 3 if you want more sauce) cups of water. If you are not using a wok, use 1½ to 2½ cups of water, as the liquid won’t cook off as quickly in a thick-bottomed pot. Add the spice packet you prepared earlier, and bring the contents of the wok to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Cook the ginger slices for 1 minute. Increase the heat to high, and add the pickled mustard greens. Stir, and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the greens are dry and you start hearing a popping sound from the greens in the pan. Remove from the heat. This step is key!
- Once the pork has simmered for 35 minutes, remove the spice packet, and stir in the cooked pickled greens with the ginger. Simmer for another 15 minutes, or longer if you like the pork belly really tender. Feel free to adjust the sauce level by adding more water if it is too dry (or by turning up the heat to cook off the liquid if it’s too wet). Serve with steamed rice!
