Twice-Cooked Pork (Hui Guo Rou)

Hui Guo Rou, or Twice-Cooked Pork, is a beloved home-style dish from Sichuan province that is as simple in concept as it is extraordinary in flavor. As the name suggests, the pork belly undergoes two distinct cooking processes. First, the whole pork belly is simmered in water with ginger, scallions, and Shaoxing wine until just cooked through. After cooling, it is sliced thinly and returned to a hot wok for the second cooking — the stir-frying stage. The pork slices are cooked until they curl and the fat renders slightly, giving them a satisfying chew. They are then combined with leeks, garlic shoots, and sometimes green and red bell peppers, along with doubanjiang (spicy fermented broad bean paste), fermented black beans, dark soy sauce, and a touch of sugar. The doubanjiang provides a deeply savory, complex heat that coats every slice of pork. The dish is finished with a drizzle of sesame oil and served immediately over steamed rice. Hui Guo Rou is the epitome of Sichuan home cooking.