Twice-Cooked Pork Belly
YIELD : 2 servings ( or 2 people )
TIME : 30 Minutes
TASTE: Savory
COOKING METHOD: Stir-fry
SKILL: Medium-level
DESCRIPTION: The most famous Sichuan dishes are actually not spicy. Twice-cooked Pork Belly is one of them. “Twice-cooked” in the name means that pork belly was literally cooked twice. It was boiled first and then stir-fried. This dish was originated in Sichuan China and it is slighty different from different chefs in Sichuan. Chef’s woking skill is also very important to this dish.
INGREDIENTS:
Pork belly - 450g
Red bell pepper - 1
Green belly pepper - 1 ( or Chinese green long & hot pepper for a spicy version )
Green scallion - 2 stalks
Ginger - 4g
Garlic - 4 Cloves
CONDIMENTS:
Cooking Oil - 2 TBSP ( oil of your choice - canola oil or olive oil )
Soy Sauce - 1 TBSP ( optional, recommended light soy sauce)
Chinese Cooking Wine - 1 TBSP
Fermented bean chili paste - 2 TBSP
Star anise - 2 pieces
Bay leaves - 2 pieces
Fermented black beans - 1 TBSP (optional)
Sichuan peppercorn - 1 TSP (optional)
STEPS:
STEP 1 : Prepare all of the ingredients - slice the garlic cloves, peel the ginger and cut it into thin slices, and cut scallions into pieces within 3 inches per piece. Wash and unseed the red and green bell pepper and slice them into small pieces within 3 inches per piece.
STEP 2 : Heat up a pot of water ( water needs to cover the pork belly chunk ) and add star anise, ginger slices, bay leaves and cooking wine to the water. Boil the wahsed pork belly in the water for about 20 minutes until the meat is fully cooked. String the meat and put it aside to cool down. Once the meat is fully cool down, cut it into thin slices within 4 inches each slice.
STEP 3 : Add cooking oil to a stir-fry pan and turn heat to medium -high ( Tip: using a fire stove and a wok creates restaurant quality woking effect ). Add garlic slices, scallion stalks to the pan and Sichuan peppercorn ( optional ), stir-fry for about 5 seconds. Add fermented bean chili paste and fermented black beans ( optional ). Turn the heat to medium and stir-fry for about 5 seconds.
STEP 4 : Add pork belly slices to the pan and stir-fry for about 10 seconds until the edge of the meat slice turns slightly brown. Add red and green belly pepper slices and stir-fry for about another 10 seconds.
STEP 5 : Turn off the heat and add soy sauce ( optional ) and stir-fry for a bit; top the pan with a lid and let it steam for about 10 seconds. Plate the dish.