Now exactly what is twice cooked pork ?
Here’s what’s garnered from Wikipedia :
Twice cooked pork (回锅肉) literally “return pot meat”; also called double cooked pork) is a Sichuan-style Chinese dish. The dish’s ingredients include pork, which is simmered, sliced and stir fried, and commonly stir fried vegetables such as cabbage, bell peppers, onions, or scallions with a sauce that may include Shaoxing rice wine, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, chili bean paste and tianmianjiang bean paste.
But mine is the cheater’s version of it and not the authentic one. As Christine’s recipes implies, this twice cooked pork although is the cheater’s play, but nevertheless I must agree that the flavor is good. The original version requires the pork to be simmered in boiling water before slicing them thinly and going back to the wok to be coated with the sauce. But since we can readily buy already thinly sliced pork locally, so this step is skipped. Instead we pan fried them slightly as the first cook and “throwing” them back into the wok for the second cook. Hence, it’s still as the name implies “twice cooked pork”! Hahaha!
While the traditional version uses pork belly, I used pork collar instead as it has lesser fats contents. And it’s just nice that I get to clear the jar of hot chili bean paste that has been sitting around. Hot chili bean paste can be very spicy and salty, hence they are always used in moderation in cooking. But they are not sold in any version lesser than a jar, so it’s just appropriate that twice cooked pork is needing this ingredient which helps me to clear my fridge too !
I realized the first toss actually cooks the pork and pan frying it further allows it to enjoy a slightly grilled texture and taste. The second cook infuses the aroma of the combined sauce ingredients into the pork, allowing it to absorb the flavor completely before beefing it up to be served. As Wikipedia implies too, though it is commonly stir fried with some kind of vegetables, but I had it done separately and packed this delicious meal into my lunchbox. Indeed, they are perfect with some steamed rice and you’ve got another satisfying meal settled.
Step 1 : Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Stir fried the pork over medium-high heat until both sides are slightly brown. Remove from pan and drain them on kitchen towels. *Note : if the heat is not strong enough, the pork will release water and will take longer to be cooked.
Step 2 : Retain about 1 to 2 tbsp of oil in the pan, just enough for further stir frying. Add the black bean paste and hot chili bean paste. Saute until aromatic. Add the water or chicken stock.
Step 3 : Continue to cook until the water or stock boils. Toss back the pork slices into the pan and increase heat to high. Add the shaoxing wine and stir to combine.
Step 4 : Season with sugar and pepper accordingly. Taste to see if it’s ok. Add more water or chicken stock if necessary. When the sauce dries up, dish and serve immediately.
- 200g pork collar slices, thinly sliced (you can use pork belly too!)
- 1 tbsp black bean sauce
- 1 tbsp hot chili bean paste
- 300ml of chicken stock (I used water instead.)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- dash of pepper
- some cooking oil
- Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Stir fried the pork over medium-high heat until both sides are slightly brown. Remove from pan and drain them on kitchen towels.
- Retain about 1 to 2 tbsp of oil in the pan, just enough for further stir frying. Add the black bean paste and hot chili bean paste. Saute until aromatic. Add the water or chicken stock.
- Continue to cook until the water or stock boils. Toss back the pork slices into the pan and increase heat to high. Add the shaoxing wine and stir to combine.
- Season with sugar and pepper accordingly. Taste to see if it's ok. Add more water or chicken stock if necessary. When the sauce dries up, dish and serve immediately.
