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

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.

Now add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.

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

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.