Hui Guo Rou – Twice Cooked Pork
One of Sichuan’s proudest dishes, whose pungent hot, savoury sauce covers thin slices of meat for a classic banquet center piece. Boiling the pork ahead of time makes it easy to slice thin- be sure to allow enough for some of the fat to melt in the wok when initially frying the slices.
Ingredients
- 350 g pork belly
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 1 ½ Tbsp Doubanjiang * (chili bean paste)
- 1 tsp Tianmian jiang or gojujang
- 1 Tbsp Laoganma (chili bean paste)
- 2 dried chilies, ground
- 3 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1 inch pieces
- 5 garlic stems, sliced diagonally into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tsp yellow wine
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- Salt and sugar to taste
Method
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1
Add the pork to a large pot of simmering water and boil until cooked, about 20 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside. When the pork is cool, slice as thinly as possible crosswise, so that each slice is half meat and half fat.
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2
Add oil to a wok over high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the pork slices. Stir fry until the meat begins to brown and some of the fat melts into the oil, about 2-3 minutes. Push the meat to one side of the wok or, if you are using a small wok, simply remove from the heat.
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3
Add the Doubanjiang to the wok and fry for about 30 seconds, mixing the paste into the oil. Repeat for the Tianmian jiang and laoganma. Add the dried ground chilies and stir so the sauce is uniform.
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4
Add the green onions and garlic stems, stir frying vigorously for a minute or two, ensuring they are coated in the sauce. Return the pork to the wok and stir until all the ingredients are mixed well.
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5
Add the yellow wine, soy sauce, salt and sugar, toss lightly, and remove from heat.
This salty, spicy, warming sauce, made from lightly fermented broad beans, is called ‘the soul of Sichuan food.” Be sure the ingredient list includes broad beans and as few additives as possible.
For more information about ingredients used in sichuanese cuisine, check out our Sichuan Pantry blogpost.
