Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts

Among the vast and profound variety of Chinese cuisine, Sichuan dishes stand out for their distinctive spicy, numbing, and flavorful characteristics. Among the many Sichuan dishes, Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts is undoubtedly a classic favorite loved by many. This dish not only boasts a bright red color and appealing presentation but is also a perfect companion for rice. It is incredibly tasty, featuring tender pork that is rich but not greasy, and bursting with flavor!

Many people love Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts, but there are some important tips to keep in mind when making it. Once you master these techniques, you can easily create this delicious dish at home. Let's learn how to do it together!

1、How to Choose Pork?

The key to making Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts lies in selecting the right pork belly. It's best to choose pork belly that has a good balance of lean and fatty layers, with tender meat texture. This ensures a better mouthfeel for the dish. Additionally, it's advisable not to choose pork belly that is overly fatty, as it can affect the overall texture and taste.

2、How to Control the Heat?

When pan-frying pork belly, it's important to control the heat properly and cook until both sides are lightly golden. Excessive heat can result in the exterior being overly crispy while the interior remains tender, whereas insufficient heat can lead to the pork belly lacking flavor. Therefore, it's crucial to pay attention to the heat during cooking to ensure it's fried until lightly golden.

3、How to Season Evenly?

During the seasoning process, it's important to ensure that all the spices evenly coat the pork belly, enhancing the flavor. Additionally, the seasoning should be moderate, avoiding excessive saltiness or sweetness. Adjust the seasoning according to personal preference to ensure the authentic and delicious taste of Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts.

4、How to Prepare Pork Belly?

The meat should be cooked until it's about 80-90% done, rather than fully cooked. When making Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts, it's typical to choose pork belly with skin, preferably with three or five layers of meat. After bringing the meat home, scald off any remaining hair on the skin, then cut it into wide strips about 6-8 centimeters wide. Wash the meat thoroughly and place it directly into a pot of cold water. Add some crushed ginger pieces, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer until the meat is about 80-90% cooked. Turn off the heat, remove the meat, and let it cool. Then, place it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Once chilled, slice the meat into slices about 0.3 centimeters thick.

It's crucial to note: Do not cook the meat until fully done before removing it from the pot, as this can cause the meat and skin to separate easily during later cooking stages.

5、How to Make the Twice-Cooked Sauce?

Place a clean pot on the stove and add 300 grams of rapeseed oil. Heat over medium heat until it reaches about 40% of its maximum temperature. Then, add 100 grams of minced ginger and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Next, add 1 kilogram of chopped Pixian fermented bean paste, 200 grams each of chopped soaked red chili peppers and Yongchuan fermented black beans, 50 grams each of spare rib sauce, and sugar, and 100 grams of sweet bean sauce. Add 10 grams of aged vinegar. Reduce the heat to low and stir-fry for 10-12 minutes.

The fermented black beans should be sautéed in the partially heated salad oil beforehand to prevent them from being crushed during subsequent operations.

6、How to Choose fermented bean paste?

In traditional Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts, the fermented bean paste added during cooking should ideally be a mixture of 1-year and 3-year aged bean pastes. The 1-year bean paste is used to enhance the color and brightness of the dish, while the 3-year bean paste adds a rich umami flavor. However, due to many inexperienced chefs not mastering the blending technique, it's also common to use directly red oil bean paste. Some restaurants or bean paste factories may claim that using 5-year aged bean paste is the best, but this is actually a misconception. Dishes made with 5-year bean paste tend to be too dark, and the age of the bean paste doesn't necessarily correlate with its suitability for stir-frying dishes.

7、How to Use fermented bean paste Correctly?

①Finely Chop the Fermented Bean Paste:

The fermented bean paste purchased often hasn't undergone further grinding processing. The chili segments and broad bean chunks in the bean paste are usually quite large. Using them directly can pose challenges: it's difficult to bring out the bright red color and aroma of the bean paste, and the large chili and bean pieces can significantly affect the presentation of the dish. Therefore, it's advisable to crush or finely chop the fermented bean paste before using it in cooking Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts.

②Moderate Heat for Stir-frying the Bean Paste:

When the temperature of the pan reaches around 270°C to 280°C, the bean paste will turn into tar, greatly diminishing its aroma and bright red color. Hence, when stir-frying the fermented bean paste for Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts, it's important not to use excessively high heat.

With these handy tips in mind, I believe everyone can quickly whip up an authentic Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts. You can also adjust the seasoning quantities and swap out additional ingredients according to your own taste preferences. Now, let's roll up our sleeves and get cooking together!