How to ensure that braised pork with preserved vegetables is tender and juicy when steaming?
Publish Time: 2025-03-06
As a classic Chinese dish, braised pork with preserved vegetables is loved by diners for its unique taste and rich flavor. In the process of steaming braised pork with preserved vegetables, how to ensure that the meat is tender and juicy is a key skill that every chef needs to master. Below, let's discuss how to do it.Selecting ingredients is the first step to ensure that the meat is tender and juicy. High-quality pork belly is the first choice for making braised pork with preserved vegetables. Pork belly is fat and lean, with distinct layers. Such meat can retain a certain amount of fat during the steaming process, making the taste more tender. At the same time, fresh pork belly can also lock in the gravy, making the steamed braised pork more delicious and juicy.Boiling is a key pretreatment step before steaming. Put the pork belly in cold water, add appropriate amount of cooking wine, ginger slices, scallions and other seasonings, boil over high heat, then turn to low heat and cook until it can be easily pierced with chopsticks. This step can not only remove the blood from the pork belly, but also make the meat softer, which is conducive to absorbing the aroma of preserved vegetables and the taste of seasonings during subsequent steaming.Frying the pork belly is another key step. It can make the skin of the braised pork form a crispy tiger skin, while locking the gravy and making the meat more tender. During the frying process, it is necessary to pay attention to the control of the heat to avoid excessive fire causing the meat to burn. After frying, soak the pork belly in cold water to form tiger skin patterns on the skin. This step is crucial to improving the taste of the braised pork.Marinating the pork belly is an important preparation before steaming. By marinating with seasonings such as light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, and white sugar, the meat can be more flavorful and also help keep the meat fresh and tender. The marinating time should not be too long to prevent the meat from becoming too salty and astringent.Steaming is a key step to ensure that the meat is tender and juicy. Place the marinated pork belly at the bottom of a bowl, skin side down, top with the fried preserved vegetables, and then pour in the marinated meat juice. There should be enough water in the steamer to ensure that the pot does not dry out during the steaming process. After boiling over high heat, turn to low heat and steam for at least one hour to allow the meat to fully absorb the aroma of preserved vegetables and the flavor of the seasonings, while keeping the meat fresh and juicy. The length of the steaming time can be adjusted according to personal taste and the tenderness of the meat.After steaming, turn the braised pork upside down on a plate. This step is not only for beauty, but also to make the meat softer and more juicy. During the process of turning it upside down, you need to pay attention to the technique and strength to avoid destroying the shape and taste of the braised pork.In summary, to ensure that the braised pork with preserved vegetables is tender and juicy when steaming, the key lies in the careful operation and control of the heat in each link such as material selection, boiling, frying, marinating and steaming. Only in this way can you make a braised pork with preserved vegetables with good color, aroma and taste and smooth taste.