Twice-Cooked Pork (Hui Guo Rou)

Ingredients

• 600g pork belly, half-inch thick slices
• 100ml soy sauce
• 30ml rice vinegar
• 20ml sesame oil
• 15g Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
• 12g garlic, minced
• 10g ginger, minced
• 8g dried Sichuan chiles, deseeded and minced
• 1 scallion, white and green parts separated, sliced
• 200g baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
• 3g sea salt
• 2g Tellicherry black pepper
• 2g sugar

Method

1. 1
   Blanch pork belly slices in boiling salted water 8 minutes; remove with spider strainer; pat dry.
2. 2
   Heat wok over high heat; add 1 tbsp neutral oil; working in batches, sear pork belly 2 minutes per side until edges crisp and color darkens; set aside.
3. 3
   Reduce heat to medium; add sesame oil, then minced garlic, ginger, scallion white, and dried Sichuan chiles; toast 1 minute until fragrant.
4. 4
   Return pork to wok; toss 1 minute; add soy sauce, rice vinegar, crushed Sichuan peppercorns, sea salt, black pepper, and sugar; stir to coat evenly, 2 minutes.
5. 5
   Scatter bok choy around pork; cover and cook 3 minutes until greens are tender-crisp.
6. 6
   Finish with scallion green; serve over steamed white rice.