Hui Guo Rou (twice-cooked pork) is a Sichuan classic — pork belly poached first until just cooked, then sliced thin and returned to the wok to fry until the fat is rendered, translucent, and slightly curled. Tossed with doubanjiang, leek, capsicum, and sweet black bean paste. The double-cooking produces a texture unique to this dish — the fat is rendered but still yielding, the lean meat is firm but not tough.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
IThe Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
600 g
pork belly
skin removed, cut into 5 cm × 2 cm × 3 mm slices
Your own market
30 ml
neutral oil
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 g
preserved mustard greens
rinsed and chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 cloves
garlic
thinly sliced
Your own market
15 ml
Shaoxing wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
8 g
caster sugar
Your own market
4
dried red chilies
whole
Your own market
100 ml
chicken stock
Your own market
2
scallions
cut into 3 cm pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Blanch pork slices in boiling salted water for 3 minutes; drain and pat dry.
2
Heat oil in wok over high heat; sear pork until edges are golden, 3–4 minutes.
3
Add ginger, garlic, and chilies; toss for 30 seconds until fragrant.
4
Stir in preserved mustard greens and cook 1 minute.
5
Deglaze with Shaoxing wine; add soy sauce, sugar, and stock.
6
Reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered for 15 minutes until pork is tender and sauce is glossy.
7
Fold in scallions and serve immediately over steamed jasmine rice.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where twice-cooked pork lives or dies is the fat rendering in the second cook — the pork belly slices go into a medium-hot wok and are left undisturbed for 90 seconds while the fat surface renders. The slice curls slightly as the fat contracts. When each slice has a translucent, blistered fat surface with slight charring at the edges, the rendering is complete. Add the sauce at this point.
V
Cross-Cuisine Parallels
Korean bossam (poached and sliced pork belly
the first-cook stage as a complete dish in Korean cuisine)
Japanese kakuni (slow-braised pork belly in soy and mirin
the Japanese long-cooked version)
Italian porchetta (double-cooked pork
seared after roasting — same double-heat logic).
VI
What to Pour
Chongqing Beer (Chongqing lager) or Tsingtao — the Sichuan context demands cold Chinese lager. The carbonation cuts through the rendered pork fat and doubanjiang richness.
VII
Origin & Lineage
Sichuan province. Hui guo rou is a staple of Sichuan home cooking — made from leftover poached pork, returned to the wok for a second transformation. The dish represents the Sichuan philosophy of using every stage of an ingredient's preparation.