Dongshan Goat – Hainanese Red-Braised Goat

You’ve been traveling across Hainan Island when you arrive in Wanning, where coconut palms, tropical farmland, and green hills rise not far from the South China Sea. In the afternoon, you head toward Dongshan Ridge, a rocky forested hill overlooking the surrounding countryside.

Along the way, you begin spotting small black goats picking their way across the rocks and browsing among the shrubs. These are the goats for which Dongshan is famous. Dongshan goats have been raised around Wanning for centuries and became prestigious enough that historical accounts describe goats from the area being sent as imperial tribute. Today, Dongshan goat remains one of Hainan’s celebrated traditional foods.

After coming down from the ridge, you stop at a restaurant on the edge of Wanning. The cook notices you looking toward the kitchen and waves you over to a large clay pot simmering on the stove.

Inside are chunks of skin-on goat surrounded by a dark, fragrant sauce.

The cook explains that Dongshan goat can be prepared many ways—clear stewed, white-braised, dry-fried, in hot pot, or hongmen, slowly red-braised. Red braising is one of the traditional preparations recognized in Wanning’s Dongshan goat cooking tradition.

Ginger, scallions, and garlic are first fried until fragrant. Star anise, cinnamon, and dried tangerine peel follow. Then comes something you might not expect: fermented red bean curd and a little Chu Hou sauce, ingredients that add a deep savory, slightly sweet fermented flavor to the braise.

The goat is tossed through the aromatics, splashed with Shaoxing wine, and seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper before broth is added.

Then the clay pot is covered.

Over the next few hours, the goat slowly softens. The skin becomes almost silky, the connective tissue melts into the sauce, and the braising liquid reduces from a thin broth into a glossy reddish-brown coating around the meat. Traditional Hainan preparations particularly prize Dongshan goat served with the skin attached.

When your bowl arrives, the goat is served with steamed rice and a few simple vegetables. The flavors are rich but not fiercely spicy—ginger, fermented bean curd, warm spices, soy, and the concentrated flavor of the goat itself.

After seeing the little black goats scrambling across Dongshan Ridge earlier that afternoon, you now understand why Wanning built an entire culinary tradition around them.

Dongshan Goat

Hainanese Red-Braised Goat

Serves 5–6

Ingredients

• 3 pounds bone-in goat meat, preferably skin-on, cut into medium serving-size pieces

• 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

• 3 inches fresh ginger, cut into thick slices

• 6 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

• 5 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces

• 2 whole star anise

• 1 small cinnamon stick

• 1 piece dried tangerine peel, about 2 inches

• 2 cubes fermented red bean curd, plus 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the jar

• 1 tablespoon Chu Hou paste

• ¼ cup Shaoxing wine

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon white pepper

• 1½ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

• 4 cups goat stock, chicken stock, or water

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil, for finishing

Traditional Hainan recipes for braised Dongshan goat use combinations of ginger, scallion, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, dried citrus peel, fermented bean curd, Chu Hou sauce, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sugar, and pepper.

Finding the Special Ingredients

Fermented Red Bean Curd

Look for jars labeled:

• red fermented bean curd

• fermented red tofu

• nanru

• 南乳

It is usually sold at Chinese or Asian grocery stores.

The cubes are soft, salty, fermented, and slightly sweet. Mash them before adding them to the pot.

Chu Hou Paste

Chu Hou paste is a Cantonese-style fermented soybean sauce commonly used for braised meats.

Look for it near hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and fermented bean pastes at a Chinese grocery store.

If you cannot find it, substitute:

• 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce

• plus 1 teaspoon fermented soybean paste

Dried Tangerine Peel

Dried mandarin or tangerine peel adds a subtle citrus aroma.

Look for chenpi at a Chinese grocery store.

If unavailable, use two thin strips of fresh orange peel, avoiding as much of the bitter white pith as possible.

Blanch the Goat

Place the goat in a large pot and cover with cold water.

Add a few slices of the ginger and 1 scallion.

Bring to a boil.

Cook for about 5 minutes while foam and impurities rise to the surface.

Drain the goat and rinse the pieces under warm water.

Discard the blanching liquid.

Blanching before braising is common in traditional Dongshan goat preparations and helps produce a cleaner-tasting finished sauce.

Prepare the Fermented Bean Curd

Place the fermented red bean curd in a small bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon of its liquid and the Chu Hou paste.

Mash everything together until fairly smooth.

Set aside.

Fry the Aromatics

Heat the neutral oil and sesame oil in a large heavy pot, Dutch oven, or clay casserole over medium heat.

Add the remaining ginger, garlic, and scallions.

Cook for about 2–3 minutes, until fragrant.

Add the star anise, cinnamon, and dried tangerine peel.

Cook for another 30 seconds.

Add the Goat

Add the blanched goat.

Increase the heat to medium-high.

Stir-fry for about 5–8 minutes, turning the pieces frequently.

Allow the outside of the goat to begin taking on a little color.

Add the Fermented Sauces

Add the mashed fermented bean curd and Chu Hou mixture.

Stir thoroughly so the sauce coats the goat.

Cook for about 2 minutes.

The fermented bean curd will begin to fry in the oil and become very aromatic.

Add the Shaoxing Wine

Pour the Shaoxing wine around the hot sides of the pot.

Let it bubble vigorously for about 30 seconds.

Stir everything together.

Season the Braise

Add:

• light soy sauce

• dark soy sauce

• sugar

• white pepper

• salt

Stir well.

Pour in enough stock or water to come roughly three-quarters of the way up the goat.

The meat does not need to be completely submerged.

Slow-Braise the Goat

Bring the liquid to a gentle boil.

Cover and reduce the heat to low.

Simmer for about 2–3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the goat is very tender.

Add a little hot water if the cooking liquid reduces too far before the goat is ready.

Young goat may become tender sooner.

Mature goat can take considerably longer.

Wanning cooks also use long, gentle cooking for Dongshan goat; village-banquet preparations may simmer goat for roughly two hours with aromatics such as ginger, dried citrus peel, star anise, mushrooms, or dates.

Reduce the Sauce

Once the goat is tender, remove the lid.

Remove the cinnamon stick, star anise, and dried tangerine peel if you can easily find them.

Increase the heat to medium.

Simmer uncovered for about 15–25 minutes, gently turning the goat occasionally.

The braising liquid should reduce into a rich, glossy reddish-brown sauce that coats the meat.

Do not reduce it completely dry.

Taste and adjust the salt, sugar, soy sauce, or white pepper.

Drizzle with the final teaspoon of sesame oil.

Slow Cooker Option

Blanch the goat first.

Prepare the ginger, garlic, scallions, spices, fermented bean curd, Chu Hou paste, wine, and seasonings on the stovetop as directed.

Transfer everything to the slow cooker.

Add only about 2½–3 cups stock, because a slow cooker loses much less moisture.

Cook on low for about 7–9 hours, or until the goat is very tender.

Transfer the meat and sauce to a wide pot and simmer uncovered until the sauce becomes concentrated and glossy.

To Serve

Serve Dongshan Goat with:

• steamed jasmine rice

• stir-fried leafy greens

• steamed vegetables

• fresh cucumber

• a little Hainan yellow chile sauce on the side for anyone who wants heat

Spoon some of the dark braising sauce over the rice.

The finished dish should have very tender goat, soft gelatinous skin, and a rich but balanced sauce flavored with ginger, fermented bean curd, soy, Shaoxing wine, dried citrus peel, and warm spices.

One thing I especially like about this recipe for your map is that it brings in a flavor you haven't used much elsewhere: fermented red bean curd and Chu Hou sauce. That makes it taste very different from the tomato-, wine-, curry-, and herb-based goat dishes we've been doing.