4.5 from 12 votes
Sichuan Twice-Cooked Pork Belly
Cooking twice-cooked pork belly with a wild pig is a little tougher (literally) than if you use domesticated pork belly. Most recipes call for boiling the pork belly for 20 to 45 minutes, but that won't work with wild pigs. Instead, I cook the boar belly in steaming water -- not boiling -- for 60 to 90 minutes, to help break down the connective tissue in it. Keeping the temperature lower prevents all the fat from boiling out of the belly.
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
Total Time
2 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 966 kcal
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Chinese
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds uncured pork belly (do not use bacon)
- 3 medium-sized leeks, sliced in half then in pieces you can pick up with chopsticks
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil or lard, reduce by 1 tbsp if your pork is very fatty
- 1 tablespoons chile bean paste
- 3 tablespoons black bean sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine, or dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a healthy pinch of salt to it. Drop the pork belly in it and lower the heat until the water is barely simmering. Cook domesticated pork belly like this for about 45 minutes, or wild pig belly for up to 2 hours; somewhere around 90 minutes is normally about right. Remove the pork belly and set on a plate in the freezer to chill.
- When the pork belly has chilled through, which should take 30 to 60 minutes, slice it thinly across the grain. You want thin squares or rectangles you can pick up with chopsticks.
- Heat a wok or large sauté pan over high heat until it's good and hot. Add the peanut oil and swirl it around, then add the pork belly. Arrange the pork belly in one layer all around the wok and let it sear like this for a minute or two, until it gets a little browned and starts to release some fat. Toss to flip and use tongs or chopsticks to make sure the pork is cooking on the opposite side. Let this cook for a minute or two. Remove the pork for now.
- Add the chile bean paste, black bean paste, cooking wine and leeks. Stir-fry over high heat until the leeks are bright green and glossy, about 2 minutes. Add the pork back and stir-fry another minute. Add the cooking wine, soy and sugar and stir-fry another few seconds. Serve over rice.
Cup of Yum
Notes
- You really need the black bean sauce to make this dish -- many good supermarkets carry it.
Nutrition Information
Calories
966kcal
(48%)
Carbohydrates
8g
(3%)
Protein
17g
(34%)
Fat
96g
(148%)
Saturated Fat
34g
(170%)
Cholesterol
122mg
(41%)
Sodium
349mg
(15%)
Potassium
375mg
(11%)
Fiber
1g
(4%)
Sugar
4g
(8%)
Vitamin A
573IU
(11%)
Vitamin C
5mg
(6%)
Calcium
28mg
(3%)
Iron
2mg
(11%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 966
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 966kcal | 48% |
| Carbohydrates | 8g | 3% |
| Protein | 17g | 34% |
| Fat | 96g | 148% |
| Saturated Fat | 34g | 170% |
| Cholesterol | 122mg | 41% |
| Sodium | 349mg | 15% |
| Potassium | 375mg | 8% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 4g | 8% |
| Vitamin A | 573IU | 11% |
| Vitamin C | 5mg | 6% |
| Calcium | 28mg | 3% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.