东坡肉

东坡肉配Lafon Meursault
东坡肉得名于北宋文豪苏东坡,原型为苏东坡在任徐州知府时制作的“回赠肉”,后人为纪念苏东坡而命名为东坡肉。东坡对烹肉颇有心得,从其一首打油诗中中即可略窥一二:“慢着火、少着水,柴火罨焰烟不起,待它自熟莫催它,火候足时它自美。”
东坡肉需选用上好的金华“两头乌”猪肉和砂锅烹制。竹箅垫底,铺上葱姜蒜,肉皮朝下加佐料于小火上焖。七八成熟后将肉块翻至肉皮朝上,焖至酥烂。比较讲究的酒家,还会使用紫砂小罐分装一人分量,密封旺火蒸,以进一步去除油腻,使肉质酥烂。
虽然使用带皮肥肉,但得益于慢火烹饪而并不肥腻,反而皮入口即化,肉入口香糯。清爽甘洌,而且带有一定酒体的勃艮第白酒可以与之搭配,Lafon家出产的Meursault带有很强的骨架感,充满矿物质气息,搭配东坡肉非常不错。张翛翰,丙申年初。

Dongpo Pork and Lafon Meursault
Dongpo Pork is named after celebrated Song Dynasty poet, Su Shi. The prototype was a dish known as “returned pork” created by Su as he held office in Xuzhou, and people named the dish after the poet posthumously. Su Shi was adept at cooking meat and one can tell his culinary savoir faire from a limerick he wrote: “gentle heat, little fluid, on a delicate fire with hardly any fume; let it cook, no hurry, when the time comes it will be tasty.”
Dongpo Pork is made with premium pork of the Jinhua “two ends black” breed and a clay pot. A bamboo steamer placed at the bottom of the pot is lined with scallion, ginger and garlic, and the seasoned pork is first stewed over low heat, skin side down. When it is almost cooked through, the meat is turned skin side up and then braised until meltingly soft. More sophisticated restaurants would cook the pork in individual portion in tiny Zisha clay pot. Sealed in the pot, each piece is cooked by high heat steam to further cut down the grease and enhance the tenderness of the meat.
Although the dish makes use of a rather fatty cut of pork with skin, it is not at all greasy thanks to the slow cooking process. The skin melts on the palate and the meat is succulent and hearty. This meaty dish is great paired with crisp Burgundy white wine with considerable body. Lafon’s Meursault has a good backbone and a brisk, mineral flavour. It is excellent with Dongpo Pork. Early 2016. Austin Zhang.