Dongpo Pork Curry Don

Also called Dongpo Pork Curry Donburi

Chef: Ikumi Mito
In the manga: Chapter 54
In the anime: Episode 23
Cuisine and type: Japanese, Chinese, Donburi

Dongpo Pork Curry Don is a dish made by Ikumi Mito during the 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election's Preliminary round. It also represented Ikumi's comeback since her first defeat.

Ikumi's latest donburi dish based after the famed Chinese delicacy of Hangzhou, China. While the pork belly, which consists of lean and fatty meat is bouncy and juicy, the secret of the dish lies within Ikumi's self-made tanjōyu oil in the rice to ensure the balance of taste between spiciness and sweet flavor within the donburi. This is also Ikumi's first non-A5 Meat dish. Ikumi has shown that she has learned to create a true donburi dish, making a dish that encourages the consumer to eat everything in it.

Real-world dishes

Real facts

Dongpo Pork (traditional Chinese: 東坡肉; simplified Chinese: 东坡肉; pinyin: dōngpōròu) is a Hangzhou dish which is made by pan-frying and then red cooking pork belly. The pork is cut thick, about 2 inches square, and should consist equally of fat and lean meat. The skin is left on. The mouthfeel is oily but not greasy and the dish is fragrant with wine. The dish is named after the famed Song Dynasty poet and gastronome Su Dongpo.
Donburi (丼, literally "bowl", also frequently abbreviated as "don", less commonly spelled "domburi") is a Japanese "rice bowl dish" consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice. Donburi meals are served in oversized rice bowls also called donburi. Donburi are sometimes called sweetened or savory stews on rice.
Curry (/ˈkʌri/, plural curries) is an umbrella term referring to a number of dishes originating in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. The common feature is the use of complex combinations of spices or herbs, usually including fresh or dried hot chillies. The use of the term is generally limited to dishes prepared in a sauce. Curry dishes prepared in the southern states of India may be spiced with leaves from the curry tree.

Trivia

This is Ikumi's 3rd donburi since her A5 Japanese Beef Roti Don and Petit Size Loco Moco Don.

Dish details from the Shokugeki no Sōma Wiki (CC BY-SA).

Recipe

Official manga recipe

Nikumi’s Dongpo Pork Curry Bowl

Difficulty
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Hands-on: 1 h 35 min
Cost: ¥¥¥¥
Servings: 2

Equipmentfrying pan, pot

Tastespicy, umami, comforting

Ingredients

300 g pork belly
1 tbsp canola oil
1 large spring onion
2 thumbs of ginger root
1 star anise
5 Sichuan peppercorns
2 bowls cooked rice
Soy sauce, to taste
Oyster sauce, to taste
Potato starch, to taste
Rock salt, to taste
Sichuan peppercorn oil, to taste

[A]

1000 ml water
½ tbsp chicken bouillon

[B]

100 ml shaoxing wine
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp curry powder

Garnish

Spring onion, to taste
1 head bok choy

Method

1
Cut the pork belly into 5 cm blocks. Submerge in water and boil for 10 minutes until soft.
2
Cut off the green part of the spring onion and finely chop it. Julienne the white part and soak it in cold water for 10 minutes. Thinly slice the ginger. Chop the bok choy into quarters and blanch it.
3
Now sear the pork belly in a frying pan until the edges are golden brown.
4
Put the [A] ingredients in a pressure cooker and heat until boiling. Add the pork belly, sliced ginger, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, chopped green part of the spring onion, and then close the lid and simmer under pressure for 20 minutes.
5
Open the lid, add the [B] ingredients, close, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Season to taste with soy sauce and oyster sauce. Thicken with a potato starch slurry.
6
Season the rice to taste with rock salt and peppercorn flavoring oil. Put even portions in two bowls and top with step 5. Garnish with julienned spring onion and bok choy, and you're done!

Food safety

Cook whole cuts of pork to at least 63 °C / 145 °F and rest for 3 minutes.