The highlight of the New Year's Eve dinner: Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables made in an Electric Griddle

Prepare pork belly, cut into large cubes, remove the skin layer and fat, add star anise, ginger, cooking wine, and some scallions, and cook for 30 hours until a chopstick can pierce through the meat.

While it's hot, apply the dark soy sauce well. If possible, use an entire meat fork to prick the skin; if not, toothpicks work too. For those even lazier like me, you don't need to do anything—just apply the dark soy sauce and wait for it to cool.

Important! Place the meat upside down in the electric griddle, cover it, and heat it from the bottom. Wait for the sizzling sound, and the aroma of the meat will fill the air. Pay attention to the heat to avoid burning; when the meat skin is colored and the edges are slightly charred, it's done. This method is a shortcut for this year. A few years ago, we would use a pot of hot oil, add the meat, immediately cover it, and the splattering oil would go everywhere, sometimes even onto our arms, which is not very friendly for those who don't cook this dish often. But I truly recommend this method; it's simple and the results are quite good.

After cooling, cut into thick slices, season lightly and marinate briefly.

Soak the dried plums and preserved vegetables while cooking the meat. Wash them several times before stir-frying to remove sand, excess salt, etc., and squeeze out the water.

Add a small amount of oil and stir-fry the preserved mustard greens until fragrant. You can add an appropriate amount of five-spice powder, no other seasonings are needed.

Score the meat, spread the preserved mustard greens, add a small amount of light soy sauce and five-spice broth, put it into a pressure cooker, and steam for 20-30 minutes after it starts to release steam, depending on personal taste.

After steaming, invert it, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and it's ready. The finished product is glossy, the meat is tender, and the preserved mustard greens are fragrant.