Twice-Cooked Pork

回锅肉

Chinese
Published

July 22, 2024

Twice cooked pork (回锅肉) is a classic Sichuan home-style dish. I learned it from Chef Wang Gang (王刚) on Bilibili.

Serving Suggestions

It’s best cooked for 1-2 people as a shared main dish, and it goes perfectly with rice.

Checklist

Main Ingredient

Main Ingredient Amount Comments Alternatives
Pork rump 50g - Preferably pork from the outer part of the hind leg (with skin), called 二刀肉 in Sichuan. Pork belly is okay.
Garlic sprouts 0.5-1 stem - Can substitute with spring onions, but garlic sprouts are preferred.

Supporting Ingredient

Supporting Ingredient Amount Comments Alternatives
Pickled red chillies (红泡椒) 1 pcs - -
Ginger 5-10 g - -
Garlic 1 clove - -

Seasoning

Seasoning Amount Comments Alternatives
Fermented black beans (豆豉) Preferably Yongchuan fermented black beans (永川豆豉)
Sichuan soybean paste (豆瓣酱) This is the key element for tasting like Sichuan style -
Sweet bean paste (甜面酱) 0.5-1 tbsp
Light soy sauce 0.1 tbsp
Chinese aromatic vinegar (香醋)
MSG (optional)
Caster sugar

Cooking Tools

Cooking Tools Comments Alternatives
Small bowl For mixing sauce -

Method

As the name suggests, the pork is cooked twice: first boiled, then stir-fried. The garlic sprouts are added during the stir-fry.

flowchart TD
    boil-meat-chunk[Boil meat chunk, 30-40 min] --> prepare-meat-slices([Prepare meat slices, 10 min])
    prepare-supporting-ingredients([Prepare supporting ingredients, 5 min]) --> stir-fry-meat
    prepare-sauce([Prepare sauce, 5 min]) --> stir-fry-meat
    prepare-meat-slices --> stir-fry-meat[Stir-fry meat, 10 min]
    prepare-garlic-sprouts([Prepare garlic sprouts, estimated time]) --> stir-fry-meat

    class boil-meat-chunk long-cook
    class prepare-meat-slices cold
    class prepare-garlic-sprouts cold
    class prepare-supporting-ingredients cold
    class prepare-sauce cold
    class stir-fry-meat cook

    classDef cold fill:#90EE90
    classDef long-cold fill:#80d9ff
    classDef cook fill:#FFB6C1
    classDef long-cook fill:#FFA500

The estimated time is for serving XXX people. Total estimated time: XXX.

Preparation

Preparation Step Action Wait Until Tips
Prepare meat slices Remove meat from water and pat dry - To avoid the meat making the oil splatter during stir-frying
Slice meat into thin slices (about 2 mm) - Thinner slices are preferred to avoid greasy feeling. Use a sharp knife.
Prepare garlic sprouts Smash the garlic sprouts a bit - To let it absorb flavours more easily
Cut garlic sprouts into 4-5 cm lengths - Cut the stem at a slight angle, the leaves straight down
Prepare supporting ingredients Dice pickled red chillies
Slice ginger - Can slice into a diamond shape to look better
Slice garlic -
Prepare sauce Mix sweet bean paste and light soy sauce - We don’t use extra salt as this sauce is salty enough

Cooking

Cooking Step Action Wait Until Tips
Boil meat chunk Burn skin and wipe out the burnt surface Dark brown To remove hair and impurities. You can use the heated surface of a wok.
Add water to cover the meat, with some ginger slices, spring onion, Sichuan peppercorns and Chinese cooking wine - To remove fishy smell.
Boil the water in high heat The water is boiling Add meat to the cold water to let scum out more easily
Boil meat in low heat Meat is cooked through (a chopstick can pierce the meat), for about 30 minutes Let
the lean part face down as it doesn’t cook easily
Remove the scum (if any) - -
Put meat in cold water to cool down - To avoid the meat making the oil splatter during stir-frying
Stir-fry meat Heat oil Till 50% oil temperature Be careful with the amount of oil, as the pork will release oil during stir-frying
Add meat slices in medium-low heat Meat fat is roughly rendered, about 1 min, meat is curved (called 灯盏窝) To release fat and make it less greasy
Add fermented black beans Till fragrant -
Add Sichuan soybean paste Mix well -
Add pickled red chillies, ginger and garlic Till fragrant -
Add sauce Mix well -
Add MSG (optional), caster sugar and Chinese aromatic vinegar Mix well -
Add garlic sprouts Till cooked but still crunchy, about 10-20 seconds Stem first as it takes slightly longer to cook, then leaves. Do not overcook!

Variations

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