Twice-Cooked Pork

Twice-Cooked Pork

　　Twice-Cooked Pork originated from folk sacrificial rituals, where offerings made to gods and ancestors were taken back and recooked after being presented, hence also called "Hui Guo Rou" (Return-to-Pot Pork). In western Sichuan, it is also known as "Ao Guo Rou" (Stewed-in-Pot Pork). It is a dish that every household in Sichuan can prepare and is also regarded as a classic dish in Sichuan restaurants. For Sichuanese who have lived abroad for a long time, whenever they return to Sichuan, they may forgo delicacies from land and sea, but Twice-Cooked Pork is a must.

Characteristics: Made with pork leg meat, the dish is prepared by either boiling first then stir-frying, or steaming first then stir-frying. The finished dish features a pleasing contrast of red and green colors, with uniformly thick and thin slices of pork that are tender yet firm, richly flavorful, slightly spicy, and subtly sweet.

Cooking Method: Use skin-on pork buttock meat. Boil it in water until just cooked, then remove and let it cool slightly. Slice it evenly into thick slices about 6.6 cm long, 5 cm wide, and 0.3 cm thick, cutting along the muscle grain. When stir-frying, first heat the pan, then add a mixture of vegetable oil and lard, heating it to medium heat. Add the pork slices and stir-fry until they curl into a cup-like shape. Add Shaoxing wine, salt, and stir-fry, then add Pixian bean paste to color the meat. Add sweet bean paste and sugar, stir well, and finally add chopped garlic sprouts and stir-fry until just cooked before removing from the pan. In Chengdu-style Twice-Cooked Pork, fermented black beans are added during stir-frying, while in Chongqing-style, they are not—this is the method for the boil-then-stir-fry version. The "dry-steamed Twice-Cooked Pork," which is steamed first then stir-fried, retains more of the original juices due to not being boiled, resulting in a richer aroma and greater popularity compared to the boil-first version.