Sichuan Salt-Fried Pork
盐煎肉·(yán jiān ròu)
Jiachangcai: The Weeknight Wok
If Twice-Cooked Pork is the undisputed king of Sichuan cuisine, Salt-Fried Pork is the brilliant, pragmatic sister who gets things done on a Tuesday night. It skips the time-consuming forty-minute boil, relying instead on sheng bao—stir-frying raw, thinly sliced pork directly in the wok until the fat renders into crispy, golden edges. The dish gets its name from a genius kitchen trick: hitting the raw pork with a pinch of salt to rapidly draw out moisture and melt the fat. Anchored by the unapologetically earthy, robust funk of unwashed fermented black beans and chili bean paste, this is exactly what a home kitchen in Chengdu smells like—and with a few accessible pantry staples, you can have it on your own table in fifteen minutes.
Before you start
Firm up the pork for precision slicing.
Place the pork in the freezer for 30 to 40 minutes. Cold fat is firm fat, allowing you to easily achieve the ultra-thin slices required for rapid rendering.
Pre-mix your finishing seasonings.
Combine the soy sauce and sugar in a small prep bowl before the wok gets hot so you aren't scrambling to measure while the pork is frying.
Mince the doubanjiang.
Dump the chili bean paste on your cutting board and run your knife through it until it is a fine paste, which prevents large, harsh pieces of fermented broad bean from disrupting the final texture.
Ingredients
- skinless pork belly or highly marbled pork shoulder10 oz
- leeks2 med
- neutral cooking oil1 tbsp
- kosher salt1/4 tsp
- Pixian doubanjiang1 1/2 tbsp
- Sichuan douchi1 tbsp
- light soy sauce1 tsp
- white sugar1/2 tsp
- Shaoxing cooking wine1 tsp
Method
- 01
Render the pork over medium heat.
Heat a wok or large heavy skillet over medium until hot, add the oil, then the sliced pork. Immediately sprinkle with the salt and stir-fry gently for 4 to 6 minutes until the water evaporates and the pork edges curl into crispy, golden rings.
- 02
Fry the chili bean and black bean pastes.
Push the pork up the side of the wok to expose the pooled fat in the bottom. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the minced doubanjiang and chopped douchi to the fat, frying gently for 20 to 30 seconds until the oil turns a brilliant red.
- 03
Marry the pork with the aromatics.
Toss the crispy pork back into the bubbling red oil to coat evenly. Splash the Shaoxing wine around the edge of the wok, followed immediately by the soy sauce and sugar, tossing for 15 seconds to caramelize.
- 04
Flash-fry the leeks.
Crank the heat to high, toss in the white parts of the leeks, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the green parts and toss for another 30 seconds until they are wilted and sweet, but still retain a vibrant crunch.
- 05
Serve immediately.
Remove from the heat and serve straight out of the wok alongside steaming bowls of jasmine rice.
Notes
Do not add extra salt at the end.
The 'Salt-Fried' name comes solely from the initial pinch used to rapidly render the raw fat. The fermented pastes provide all the complex salinity the final dish requires.
Never wash authentic Sichuan douchi.
Rinsing washes away the deeply flavorful fermented paste clinging to the beans; just chop them roughly to release their potent aroma.
From The Sichuan Home Kitchen.