P
Chinese · Sichuan Province
Sichuan Twice-Cooked Pork — Hui Guo Rou Technique
Hui guo rou (回锅肉) — 'back to the wok' pork — is quintessential Sichuan home cooking. Pork belly is first simmered whole with ginger and Shaoxing wine until cooked through, then sliced and returned to a smoking-hot wok with doubanjiang, fermented black beans, and garlic sprouts (suan miao). The fat renders in the second cooking, making the skin slightly crunchy while the inside remains tender.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the first cook
600 g
pork belly
skin-on, in one piece
Your own market
30 g
60 ml
Shaoxing wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the second cook
2 tbsp
doubanjiang
Pixian broad bean paste, Pixian county
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tbsp
fermented black beans
douchi
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
200 g
garlic sprouts (suan miao)
cut into 4 cm lengths, added last
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Place the pork belly skin-side down in a pot with the ginger and Shaoxing wine. Cover with cold water and bring to a simmer. Poach until a chopstick passes through the flesh with slight resistance — the pork is intentionally underdone at this stage. Remove and cool completely, then refrigerate overnight.
2
Remove the cold pork belly from the refrigerator. The chilled, firm block cuts cleanly into thin slices — approximately 4 mm. Each slice should include skin, fat, and lean meat. The slices are traditionally folded into a concave 'lamp shade' shape when placed in the wok.
From the canon — The carbon-steel wok is the fundamental tool of Chinese cooking — not merely a frying pan but a cooking instrument whose specific properties (extreme thermal… The Wok: Seasoning, Maintenance, and Heat Management →
3
Heat a wok to its maximum temperature until a wisp of smoke rises from the surface. Add the doubanjiang and fry it dry in the wok, stirring continuously, until the oil runs deep red and the paste loses its raw, wet sheen — this step removes excess moisture and blooms the paste's heat and colour. Add the fermented black beans and stir briefly to combine.
From the canon — Doubanjiang — the 'soul of Sichuan cuisine' — is a fermented paste of broad beans (fava beans) and chillies that is to Sichuan cooking what soy sauce is to J… Doubanjiang (Sichuan Fermented Bean Paste — Aged vs Fresh) →
4
Add the sliced pork belly to the wok. Toss over maximum heat until the fat on each slice blisters and renders, and the skin takes on a slightly crunchy texture while the interior remains tender. The fat should curl and blister visibly at the edges.
5
Add the garlic sprouts. Toss over high heat for no more than one minute — the sprouts must retain their green colour and crunch. As soon as the raw smell of the sprouts mellows but before the green dims, remove from the heat and serve immediately.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Skin-on heritage-breed pork belly with a balanced fat-to-lean ratio; Pixian doubanjiang aged two years or more; home-fermented or premium douchi; garden-fresh suan miao cut to order.
02
Estate — Good-quality skin-on pork belly from a reputable butcher; Pixian county doubanjiang (label specifying Pi county); dried douchi from a Chinese grocer; fresh garlic sprouts from a market.
03
Market — Standard supermarket pork belly, skin-on; any reputable doubanjiang; shop-bought douchi; garlic sprouts when available, otherwise leek as a structural (not flavour) substitute.
04
House — Pork belly without skin will sacrifice the textural contrast central to the dish; non-Pixian doubanjiang will lack depth; scallion must not replace garlic sprouts — the sulphur compounds are categorically different and the result is markedly less aromatic.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. A chopstick pressed into the poached belly passes through with slight resistance — the pork is intentionally underdone and will firm further on refrigeration.
◇Sight. Cold pork belly slices cleanly without tearing, yielding even 4 mm sections that hold their shape.
◇Sight. Doubanjiang is ready when the wok oil runs a uniform deep red and the paste no longer spits or pools with moisture.
◇Sight. Pork slices are done in the second cook when the fat visibly blisters and the skin tightens and crisps at the edges.
◇Smell. Garlic sprouts are done when their sharp raw sulphur note softens but before the green colour dulls — remove from heat at that exact moment.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies in the moment the doubanjiang is fried dry in a smoking-hot wok: underdone, the paste remains watery and raw; overdone, it scorches bitter — only when the oil bleeds deep red and the paste ceases to spit is the foundation of the dish correctly laid.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Buffalo Trace Distillery · Kentucky Bourbon Country
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance