Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (2024)

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Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (1)

by: Bill

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Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (2)

Twice Cooked Pork, or hui guo rou(回鍋肉),is a Sichuan dish of spicy seared pork belly that’s way toofamousto ignoreandtoodeliciousnot to share.If you’ve never tried it, you NEED to make this recipe. It is simply and unequivocally delicious!

Yes, Shanghai Braised pork belly is irresistibleand yes, Cantonese roast pork belly is delicious, but pork belly recipes in Sichuan, China are different and when cooked right, this dish melts in your mouth and gives such a pleasant hot chili bean flavor that you may down two or three servings of rice with it.

In the US, this dish has evolved as demandforauthenticChinese cookinghas grown.I clearly remember the Twice Cooked Porkwe’d make in our take-out restaurant inthe old days: boiledpork, cabbage, five-spicedtofu, green and red bell pepper, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and hot sauce. For a long, long time, I thoughtwe were making “twice cooked pork.”

But as more and more authenticSichuanrestaurants open up,the true twice cooked porkhasrevealeditself. It’s amazingly decadentand addictive.

If youfind yourselfin a restaurant with a lot of Chinese diners and you see this dish on the menu, order it.Most likely,it will be pretty authentic.

We also had the dish often while living in Beijing, and developed this particular recipe based off of some of the best versions we had around the city.Only the best for our readers!

Twice Cooked Pork: Recipe Instructions

Important notes, before we begin:

  1. Don’t forget to make ricein advancebecause you’ll need it.
  2. Just to make this really clear:the pork is sliced AFTER beingboiled.
  3. The right hot bean pastereallymakes this dish, sosee photo below for the right brand.

In a medium pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the whole piece of pork belly and the ginger, and bring the pot to a boil again. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until the pork is tender and cooked through. Remove the pork from the pot and run it under cold running water for about a minute. Set aside.

While the pork iscooling, prepare all the other ingredients.Once you are ready to cook (don’t do this in advance, or the pork will dry out), thinlyslice the pork belly (slices should be about 1/8 inch thick).

Heat your wok over high heat until just starting to smoke. Add 1tablespoon of oil and sear the pork, until you get a lightcaramelization, about 90 seconds. Turn the heat to medium-low and scoop out the pork. Add anothertablespoon of oil to the wok.

Add the spicybroad bean paste to the wok and let it fry in the oil for about 30 seconds to bring out the flavor and color. The color should be red; pay attention to the heat to avoid burning.

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (4)

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (5)

Now add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (6)

Turn the heat to high and add the pork, longhotgreenpeppers, and leeks.

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (7)

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (8)

Stir-fry for a minute. Add the shaoxingwine, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir everything together. Once the leeks and are wilted and the peppers are cooked (while still having a little crunch), it’s ready to serve.

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (9)

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (10)

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (11)

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4.84 from 30 votes

Twice Cooked Pork

Twice Cooked Pork, or hui guo rou (回鍋肉), is a Sichuan dish of spicy seared pork belly. This Chinese classic recipe is way too famous to ignore and too delicious not to share.

by: Bill

Course:Pork

Cuisine:Chinese

Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (12)

serves: 4 servings

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 35 minutes minutes

Total: 45 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound pork belly (450g, you HAVE to use pork belly, or it's not twice cooked pork)
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 2 tablespoons oil (divided)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons spicy broad bean paste
  • 2 cloves garlic (sliced)
  • 2 long hot green peppers (seeds removed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces)
  • 1 medium leek (split lengthwise, washed thoroughly, and cut in 2-inch pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

  • In a medium pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the whole piece of pork belly and the ginger, and bring the pot to a boil again. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until the pork is tender and cooked through. Remove the pork from the pot and run it under cold running water for about a minute. Set aside.

  • While the pork is cooling, prepare all the other ingredients. Once you are ready to cook (don't do this in advance, or the pork will dry out), thinly slice the pork belly (slices should be about 1/8 inch thick).

  • Heat your wok over high heat until just starting to smoke. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and sear the pork, until you get a light caramelization, about 90 seconds. Turn the heat to medium-low and scoop out the pork. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok.

  • Add the spicy broad bean paste to the wok and let it fry in the oil for about 30 seconds to bring out the flavor and color. The color should be red; pay attention to the heat to avoid burning.

  • Now add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Turn the heat to high and add the pork, peppers, and leeks. Stir-fry for a minute. Add the shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir everything together. Once the leeks and are wilted and the peppers are cooked (while still having a little crunch), it's ready to serve.

nutrition facts

Calories: 578kcal (29%) Carbohydrates: 8g (3%) Protein: 12g (24%) Fat: 67g (103%) Saturated Fat: 22g (110%) Cholesterol: 82mg (27%) Sodium: 344mg (14%) Potassium: 250mg (7%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 3g (3%) Vitamin A: 370IU (7%) Vitamin C: 6.2mg (8%) Calcium: 22mg (2%) Iron: 1.2mg (7%)

nutritional info disclaimer

TheWoksofLife.com is written and produced for informational purposes only. While we do our best to provide nutritional information as a general guideline to our readers, we are not certified nutritionists, and the values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. Various online calculators also provide different results, depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used.

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@thewoksoflife

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Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (17)

About Bill

Bill is the dad of The Woks of Life family. He grew up in upstate New York, working through high school and college in restaurants with his father, a chef. Rose from modest beginnings as a Burger King sandwich assembler to Holiday Inn busboy and line cook, to cooking at the family's Chinese restaurant, while also learning the finer points of Cantonese cooking from his immigrant parents. Specializes in all things traditional Cantonese and American Chinese takeout.

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Twice Cooked Pork: Chinese Sichuan Recipe - The Woks of Life (2024)

FAQs

What is Sichuan double-cooked pork? ›

Twice-cooked pork is a Sichuan dish of fatty pork leg or belly, skin-on, that gets two very different cooking preparations. The skin is the best part of the dish. In the first stage, the belly is simmered just until it's cooked through. Then you allow it to cool down in the refrigerator so the fat and the meat firm up.

Why is it called twice-cooked pork? ›

Twice-cooked pork is cooked by boiling pork rib steak chunks in hot water with slices of ginger and salt first, then after being cut into thin slices, the pork is put back into a wok and shallow-fried in hot oil.

What is the translation of twice-cooked pork? ›

Twice-cooked pork or double-cooked pork (Chinese: 回鍋肉; pinyin: huíguōròu) (literally "returned to the pan (wok)") is a Chinese dish in Sichuan cuisine.

How many calories are in Chinese double-cooked pork? ›

Chi's Chinese Twice Cooked Pork (1 cup) contains 9g total carbs, 7g net carbs, 16g fat, 33g protein, and 318 calories.

Is twice-cooked pork good? ›

If you're looking to create a dish that engages the senses and shares all the best in Chinese flavors, then twice-cooked pork should be right at the top of the list. It is both culturally important and completely delicious, and you can begin making it at home for the next great celebration with friends and family.

How do Chinese make pork so tender? ›

How do you tenderise pork for stir fry? Velveting is a Chinese technique that helps keep meat tender during stir frying. Adding cornstarch and bicarb to your meat during the marinating process helps to coat your meat, giving it a velvety feel that makes the meat feel extra soft.

Why can't pork be pink? ›

In short, yes! We used to be afraid of pink pork because of a parasite known as trichinosis, but the risk of contracting it is virtually nonexistent these days. Like beef, pork temperatures are designed to cook the meat long enough to nix E. coli, which means it may have a little color in the middle.

Why can't you eat pork medium rare? ›

Is eating rare pork safe? Unlike steak, which can be eaten without being fully brown on the inside, pork that's bloody (or rare) on the inside should not be consumed. This is because pork meat, which comes from pigs, is prone to certain bacteria and parasites that are killed in the cooking process.

What food item literally means twice cooked? ›

Biscuit. A baked, commonly flour-based food product. The Middle French word bescuit is derived from the Latin words bis (twice) and coquere, coctus (to cook, cooked), and, hence, means "twice-cooked". This is because biscuits were originally cooked in a twofold process: first baked, and then dried out in a slow oven.

Why is pink pork OK? ›

Cook all raw ground pork to an internal temperature of 160°F (71.1 °C) as measured with a food thermometer. If fresh pork has reached 145°F (62.8 °C) throughout, even though it may still be pink in the center, it should be safe. The pink color can be due to the cooking method or added ingredients.

Why is pork pink after boiling? ›

There are numerous factors that affect persistent pinkness; however, most often the culprits are a higher than normal muscle pH and myoglobin predominately in the deoxymyoglobin form. Pork with a pH 6.3 or higher almost always results in pink coloration even at well-done temperature.

Why is pork only 145? ›

The USDA now recommends cooking pork chops, steaks, ham, and roasts to at least 145°F (63°C), which allows the meat to maintain its moisture and flavor without drying it out (7). Organ meats, ground pork, and mixtures made using ground pork, such as sausage, should still be cooked to at least 160°F (71°C) (7).

Is Chinese food cooked in pork fat? ›

In the past, most Chinese families has used pork oil when they cooking since most people living in poverty. Now, in some famous Chinese meals, in particular ' The ChongQing noodle', pork oil is an indispensable ingredient in it.

How many calories are in Szechuan pork? ›

Results for "Szechuan Pork"

Other sizes: 1 serving - 280kcal, 100 g - 158kcal, 1 oz - 45kcal, more...

Is extra lean pork healthy? ›

Nutritionally, pork possesses a wide range of essential nutrients like energizing B vitamins, choline for developing babies, and iron for healthy red blood cells. A 3-ounce serving of lean pork is loaded with protein and low in fat. Eating lean pork daily can be a part of a well-balanced, high-nutrient diet.

What does Sichuan style taste like? ›

Szechuan pepper has an intensely fragrant, citrus-like flavour and produces a "tingly-numbing" (Chinese: 麻) sensation in the mouth. Also common are garlic, chili, ginger, star anise and other spicy herbs, plants and spices.

What is the meaning of Sichuan pork? ›

Literally Shui Zhu Rou Pian means water boiled meat slices, also known as Sichuan Pork in Chili Broth. Beef, pork, or fish are usually used in this dish and the name changes slightly to indicate which meat is used. Niu is beef and yu is fish. The water in the dish keeps the meat moist and tender.

What is Szechuan pork made of? ›

Szechuan Pork: This is a vibrant and flavor-packed dish that combines tender slices of pork with crisp bell peppers and a spicy, savory sauce. It's a simple yet bold meal that's sure to liven up your dinner table, perfect for those who love a little heat in their food.

What's the difference between Hunan pork and Szechuan pork? ›

Hunan pork is characterized by its spicy, savory, and slightly sweet flavors, while Szechuan pork is known for its bold, numbing, and spicy flavors derived from Szechuan peppercorns and chili peppers.

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