China · Sichuan

Crispy Fried Pork Bites

Name: Crispy Fried Pork Bites
Prep time: 78 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 89 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Sichuan
Ingredients: pork 500 g; eggs 2 pieces; flour 30 g; sweet potato starch 120 g; mature ginger 20 g; scallion 15 g; cooking wine 15 g; water 80 g; salt 4 g; thirteen-spice powder 2 g; ground white pepper 3 g; MSG 5 g; chicken bouillon 5 g; crushed Sichuan pepper 3 g; Sichuan peppercorns 3 g; light soy sauce 8 g

Pork strips in a sweet potato starch batter, fried twice until the crust is glassy and crunchy, salted and scented with Sichuan pepper.

89 minutes · 4 servings · Moderate

Xiaosu rou is the fried pork that turns up at every Sichuan gathering, in restaurants and at home, and it is nearly always on the table before anyone sits down. The batter is built on sweet potato starch rather than wheat, which is what gives the shell its glassy crunch. Frying once sets the shape and frying again colours it, and neither stage is optional.

Ingredients

pork500 g
eggs2 pieces
flour30 g
sweet potato starch120 g
mature ginger20 g
scallion15 g
cooking wine15 g
water80 g
salt4 g
thirteen-spice powder2 g
ground white pepper3 g
MSG5 g
chicken bouillon5 g
crushed Sichuan pepper3 g
Sichuan peppercorns3 g
light soy sauce8 g

Directions

1
Shred the mature ginger; the scallion does not need cutting.
2
Pour in the cooking wine and water according to the quantities given.
3
Knead and squeeze by hand for five minutes so the ginger and scallion flavor dissolve into the water.
4
Pour in the ginger scallion water made earlier.
5
Mix well and knead thoroughly for ten minutes, until the meat has absorbed the liquid and feels tacky.
6
Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for thirty minutes.

Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.