Twice Cooked Pork - Z & Y Restaurant, Chinatown - San Francisco

16 Nov Sichuan Twice Cooked Pork: Simmer, Slice & Stir-Fry

Posted at 16:49h in Blog by

The Sichuan dish known as Hui Guo Rou Pork or Twice Cooked Pork in English-speaking countries is the topic of a few interesting legends. Although the Sichuanese cannot verify the history of the dish for certain, families have passed down stories about it for generations. It is a beloved regional Chinese food dish today.

The Sichuanese know for certain that the tern Hui Guo Rou Pork translates into meat returned to the pot, an ideal description of this favorite meal.

A popular story about Twice Cooked Pork is that its name comes from a Chinese scholar and poet during the Song Dynasty who went by the names of Su Dong Bo and Su Shi. Legend has it that the Chinese scholar and poet created Twice Cooked Pork by accident when he was attempting to make a favorite pork dish for a friend.

Su Dong Bo/Su Shi reduced the heat of the cooking pot and walked away forgetting all about it. After returning from the kitchen, he discovered that the simmering pork had turned into fat. The meat that sizzled within the fat created a soft and tender slice of pork.

A second legend about Twice Cooked Pork coincides with the Sichuanese tradition of preparing and enjoying a feast twice a month, typically on the 1st and 15th.

Due to the large amount of people served, chefs creating this pork dish simmered the meat in hot water, removed the pork from the heat, and added vegetables to create a dish the Sichuanese people loved. Twice Cooked Pork was an essential part of all lunar festivals in Sichuan after that.

Ingredients and Preparation Used to Create Twice Cooked Pork Today

Twice Cooked Pork remains popular in many cultures to this day. The primary ingredients needed to make it include:

  • 300 grams of pork
  • 100 grams of garlic sprout or an alternative such as cabbage, chili peppers, dry cowpeas, leeks, onions, or pickles
  • Broad bean paste, cooking oil, fermented soybeans, ginger, and white sugar

Creating a delicious Twice Cooked Pork meal starts with simmering pork belly slices in hot water to soften and blanch the meat. After removing and slicing the meat, the next step is to mix and stir-fry them with the above ingredients. Anyone who prefers their pork to have a moister taste can braise or steam the meat again after simmering it in boiling water the first time.

With the meat and accompanying ingredients mixed, some people choose to include a side item such as steamed rice or warm noodles. Hot sauce or Shaoxing vinegar may cover the rice or noodles along with a hearty helping of scallions. Even though part of the Twice Cooked Pork includes boiled fat, a single serving of the dish contains less than 200 calories.

Chefs prepared Twice Cooked Pork with little variation in its early history, but people making the dish today have multiple options. The flavors and taste tend to vary considerably based on the ingredients and seasoning added and the cooking method used.

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