Hui Guo Rou

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If I’m at a Sichuan restaurant, I always have to get their hui guo rou, or double cooked pork.  This is another dish that I picked up from my parents while I was home for break.  The main star of this dish is pork belly, which is first boiled in water until cooked, and then cut into slices and refried with vegetables, hence the “double cooked”.  The pork belly is usually accompanied with peppers and leeks.  Another must have is Lao Gan Ma hot sauce.  I’ve started using this in all my spicy dishes and it definitely adds more flavor and more heat than the typical chili sauce that I use.

Ingredients:

• One slab of pork belly (about 1.5lbs)
• One leek stalk
• Three peppers
• Four cloves of garlic
• Ginger
• Salt
• Lao Gan Ma hot sauce

The first part of this recipe is preparing the pork belly.  I essentially follow the same initial steps for the Yang Rou Tang.

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, enough to entirely submerge the meat.
2. When the water is boiling, put the meat inside and wait until the water starts to boil again.
3. This time, when the water comes to a boil, add a tbsp of salt and a generous amount of ginger (I usually put in five 1/4″ slices in the water)
4. Simmer the pork belly for an hour.
5. Remove the pork belly from the water and let it cool to a point where it’s easy to handle.  The stock from this process can be saved for soups.
6. Remove the meat from the bone and slice into matchbox size slivers.
7. Heat two tbsp of oil in a wok and add the pork.
8. Stir fry until the meat is nice and browned.

Now to put everything together!

1. Heat a tbsp of oil in a wok on high heat
2. Add the ginger and the garlic and stir fry until fragrant.
3. Add the pepper and a tbsp of salt and stir fry for a minute
4. Add the pork belly to the pot and stir fry for a minute.
5. Add the leeks to the pot and give a quick stir to incorporate it with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Add two tbsp of Lao Gan Ma hot sauce (or more if you like things more spicy )
7. Stir fry for another five minutes and you’re good to go!

For people who are slightly more health conscious, you can use a less fatty cut of pork.  When my parents made it, they actually used lean pork butt and it taste fine too.

Related posts:

1. Mapo Tofu
2. Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Chinese New Year
3. Yang Rou Tang (Lamb Soup)
4. Pork and Chive Dumplings
5. White Cut Chicken