Budai Gourmet Chinese

Dong Bo Pork (东坡肉) instantly became my new favorite. Here is a brief history of this amazing dish:

"The famous scholar and poet Su Shi, alias Dong Bo, (1036-1101), was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty, serving in the Court of Emperor Shen Zong. He adopted a local way of cooking, which included adding numerous spices to stew meat in the manner of Red Braised Pork of Huang Zhou. One day, he was cooking pork when a friend dropped by. Switching the fire to gentle heat, he left the kitchen to play chess with the visitor. So engrossed was he with the game that he forgot the cooking. It was only at the end of the game he suddenly recalled the pork and rushed to the kitchen. Expecting to find the pork burnt to crisp, he was surprised by the aroma when the lid of the pot was lifted. The edible pork had a rich red color, tender crispy but not flaky with a glutinous texture without the greasy taste. Henceforth, it became a regular dish for himself and his guests who couldn't get enough of it. Folklore mentions that a miscommunication about his instructions to his servants further improved the delicacy. Su Shi was supposed to have told the servants to serve the pork with a local Shao Xing wine. The servants misheard and cooked the pork with the wine. It was an instant hit and with the recipe shared freely, the dish proliferated until it became served everywhere in the region. Since it had no name, the people named it after Su Shi as Dong Bo Pork."