Straw-wrapped meat: a delicious household dish in Songjiang

Blessed with vast patches of rice paddies, Songjiang is having a bumpy harvest this season. And the rice straw can be recycled to serve as a supplemental fuel, but also be used as an "ingredient" in cuisine.

Daocao zharou (稻草扎肉), or straw-wrapped pork, with its fragrant aroma and tender, savory pork, is a favorable dish on Songjiang locals' tables.

Select some dried rice straws, wrap them around quality Songjiang-bred pork belly, and simmer them in an iron pot for three to four hours with soy sauce, until the meat takes on a shiny red color, and the fresh smell of straw completely permeates the meat in a perfect mixture of lean and fatty pork.

Here are some tips to cook this mouth-watering dish.

Clean and soak the rice straws in warm water until they turn soft. Cut the pork into chunks and bind them tightly with the rice straw. Blanch the pork briefly in boiling water with a small amount of yellow wine. Then rinse the meat clean.

Heat oil in a wok and stir-fry scallions and ginger until they smell good. Add seasoning, including pork bone sauce, seafood sauce, soy sauce, and rock sugar.

Add water. Put the straw-wrapped meat in the wok. The water should cover two-thirds of the pork. Cover and simmer for three hours on low heat.

Turn the pork over during the cooking process until a chopstick can easily pierce through the meat.

Once the meat is fully cooked, turn to medium heat to start until all liquids are absorbed. Be sure to keep the heat low and pour the soup over the pork while constantly stirring the pot to avoid sticking.

Now the dish is ready. Cut the straw before eating.

With a thick layer of soy sauce on the outside, the inside is tender and juicy. You can also wrap it in a thin pancake. Take a bite, it's crispy and soft, not greasy at all.