This hearty tender pork belly in a rich, savory sauce is made entirely in a rice cooker with flavors inspired by the Chinese classic, steamed pork belly with preserved mustard greens (mui choy kau yuk in Cantonese; mei cai kou rou in Mandarin). This celebratory dish is often served on special occasions, like Chinese New Year, with rice on the side. Here, we’ve streamlined the process, cooking the pork and mui choy (preserved mustard greens) all together with jasmine rice. To mimic the deep, long-braised flavor of the original, we fortified the sauce with umami-rich chicken broth, fish sauce and fermented red bean curd. Lastly, we added napa cabbage as a bonus ingredient for an all-in-one meal that can be enjoyed on any day.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 6 hr 50 min |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup lightly packed mui choy, leaves and tender stems (about 4 ounces)
- 1 pound center-cut pork belly, preferably skin-on, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices and halved crosswise
- Two 1-inch thin slices ginger, skin-on
- 1 star anise
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine, such as Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 cubes Chinese fermented red bean curd (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cup jasmine rice
- 10 ounces napa cabbage, cored and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 1/3 large head)
- Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Put the mui choy in a large bowl and add at least 8 cups of cold water. Refrigerate and soak until hydrated, 4 to 8 hours.
- Lift out the mui choy into a small bowl, leaving the water and any grit behind. Rinse out the large bowl and add the drained mui choy and more water. Swish the mui choi and drain. Repeat until there is no grit at the bottom of the large bowl, 2 to 3 times more.
- Shingle the pork belly slices in a single layer in a programmable locking 10-cup rice cooker (not a steamer-style cooker; see Special equipment). Top with the ginger and star anise.
- Mix the chicken broth, light soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, dark soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce and Chinese red fermented bean curd in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves and the red fermented bean curd breaks into small pieces. Pour the mixture over the pork belly.
- Squeeze out any water from the mui choy and place in a small bowl. Add the vegetable oil, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss together, then sprinkle the mui choy over the pork belly. Close the lid and set to cook on white rice/sushi rice mode until the pork belly is cooked through, 1 hour.
- Using a large rubber spatula, carefully transfer the pork belly and mui choy to a large plate. Pour the cooking liquid into a liquid measuring cup and add enough cold water to measure 1 1/2 cups.
- Rinse and drain the jasmine rice until the water runs almost clear. Add the rice and reserved cooking liquid to the rice cooker. Place the pork belly on top, followed by the mui choy, then the napa cabbage. Close the lid and cook on white rice/sushi rice mode until the rice is cooked and the pork belly is tender, about 50 minutes (see Cook’s Note).
- Serve the pork belly, mui choy, rice and cabbage sprinkled with scallions if using.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 890 |
| Total Fat | 65 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Carbohydrates | 56 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 19 g |
| Cholesterol | 82 mg |
| Sodium | 803 mg |