China · Sichuan
Twice-Cooked Pork with Peppers
Thin slices of pork belly rendered until the fat curls and turns translucent, then tossed with bean paste, garlic scapes and peppers.
Twice-cooked pork is the best-known dish to come out of Sichuan home cooking, and its whole idea is restraint: a thin slice of pork, nothing else, cooked twice so the fat goes clear and the lean turns chewy rather than tough. The name refers to the second cooking, not to a twice-cooked ingredient. Garlic scapes are the traditional partner and turn sweet once they hit the hot pan.
Ingredients
- scallion2 pieces
- gingerExact
- green and red peppersExact
- garlic scapes1 pieces
- cooking wine5 ml
- fermented chili bean paste10 ml
- MSG5 g
- light soy sauce5 ml
Directions
- 1
Take frozen pork belly and let it stand at room temperature for about half an hour, or chill fresh pork belly for an hour, then cut it into slices two to five millimeters thick.
- 2
Over medium heat, dry-fry the peppers in the wok for thirty to forty-five seconds and remove them.
- 3
Heat the wok, add a thin layer of oil to slick the surface, and fry the ginger slices for fifteen seconds.
- 4
Add the pork belly, stirring every ten seconds or so, until it turns golden brown. The longer you fry, the firmer the pork becomes.
- 5
Return the peppers, add ten milliliters of fermented chili bean paste and season with light soy sauce, then keep stir-frying for sixty seconds.
- 6
Add the garlic scapes cut into lengths and stir-fry for ten seconds.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.