Hui Guo Rou (Sichuan Twice-Cooked Pork Belly)
By Kelly SongPublished on July 4, 2023
Time
1½ hours, plus 3 hours cooling
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Skin-on pork belly is traditional in this recipe, but you can use skinless pork belly. Do not use dried or canned unfermented black beans in place of douchi. Dòubànjiàng specifically from the town of Pixian is traditional but not essential here. You can substitute Hoisin sauce for the tiánmiànjiàng, Fresno chiles for the longhorn chiles, and traditional soy sauce for the dark soy sauce. Serve with unseasoned short- or medium-grain white rice.
Instructions
- Trim root ends and dark green parts from leeks; discard roots. Quarter white and light green parts lengthwise, then slice crosswise into 1½-inch pieces; wash thoroughly. (You should have about 3 cups white and light green parts). Cut dark green parts into 4- to 6-inch pieces and wash thoroughly.
- Bring 2 quarts water, pork, ginger, and dark green leek parts to boil in large saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, adjusting heat as needed to maintain gentle simmer, until pork skin and fat can be easily pierced with paring knife, 30 to 40 minutes. (Add water as needed to keep pork submerged.) Transfer pork to plate and let cool completely, about 15 minutes; discard cooking liquid and solids. Cover pork with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours. Place pork skin side down on cutting board and slice as thin as possible (⅛ to ¼ inch thick).
- Heat oil in 14-inch wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pork and cook, stirring constantly, until meat is just beginning to brown and some fat has rendered, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in douchi and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Slide pork mixture to 1 side of wok and briefly tilt wok to let oil pool on opposite side. Stir Pixian dòubànjiàng and tiánmiànjiàng into pooled oil (oil may splatter) and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is fragrant and oil has turned red, about 30 seconds. Stir pork into oil mixture.
- Stir in white and light green leek parts; longhorn chiles, if using; soy sauce; and sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, until leeks are tender and just wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve.
Time
1½ hours, plus 3 hours coolingYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Twice-cooked pork, or “hui guo rou” in Mandarin, is a spicy Sichuanese dish that embodies its name: Pork belly is first boiled in a saucepan and then sliced thin and stir-fried in a wok. Boiling the pork first softens the skin and fat, allowing the fat in the slices to later be rendered quickly in the wok. We added leek greens and ginger to the poaching liquid to tone down the funky flavor of the pork. Then we chilled the pork for at least 3 hours before slicing it thin. Afterward, we sautéed the pork in the wok until lightly browned and crispy. We stir-fried dòubànjiàng (fermented chili bean paste), an essential Sichuanese condiment for spicy food, in the rendered pork fat, along with tiánmiànjiàng (sweet soybean sauce) for additional caramelization. Next, we incorporated the leeks' white and light green parts into the dish, providing a garlicky freshness, along with dark soy sauce and sugar for additional color and sweetness.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Skin-on pork belly is traditional in this recipe, but you can use skinless pork belly. Do not use dried or canned unfermented black beans in place of douchi. Dòubànjiàng specifically from the town of Pixian is traditional but not essential here. You can substitute Hoisin sauce for the tiánmiànjiàng, Fresno chiles for the longhorn chiles, and traditional soy sauce for the dark soy sauce. Serve with unseasoned short- or medium-grain white rice.
Instructions
- Trim root ends and dark green parts from leeks; discard roots. Quarter white and light green parts lengthwise, then slice crosswise into 1½-inch pieces; wash thoroughly. (You should have about 3 cups white and light green parts). Cut dark green parts into 4- to 6-inch pieces and wash thoroughly.
- Bring 2 quarts water, pork, ginger, and dark green leek parts to boil in large saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, adjusting heat as needed to maintain gentle simmer, until pork skin and fat can be easily pierced with paring knife, 30 to 40 minutes. (Add water as needed to keep pork submerged.) Transfer pork to plate and let cool completely, about 15 minutes; discard cooking liquid and solids. Cover pork with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours. Place pork skin side down on cutting board and slice as thin as possible (⅛ to ¼ inch thick).
- Heat oil in 14-inch wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pork and cook, stirring constantly, until meat is just beginning to brown and some fat has rendered, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in douchi and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Slide pork mixture to 1 side of wok and briefly tilt wok to let oil pool on opposite side. Stir Pixian dòubànjiàng and tiánmiànjiàng into pooled oil (oil may splatter) and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is fragrant and oil has turned red, about 30 seconds. Stir pork into oil mixture.
- Stir in white and light green leek parts; longhorn chiles, if using; soy sauce; and sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, until leeks are tender and just wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve.
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