Suanni Bairou
蒜泥白肉·(suànní báiròu)
Jiachangcai (The Weeknight Wok)
Pull the steaming pork belly from the pot and slice it thin with a heavy cleaver, drowning it in black vinegar and smashed garlic. Suanni Bairou relies entirely on a few indispensable pantry staples and the genius of the cold-water steep, transforming the everyday cut through patience and mechanically pounded garlic into paper-thin meat. Drag it through a puddle of red chili oil and eat it over rice.
Before you start
Prepare the Fuzhi Jiangyou (Sweetened Spiced Soy Sauce) ahead of time.
Combine 1 cup light soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 dried bay leaves, and 1 star anise in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to the lowest simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Strain and store in the fridge for up to a few months.
Ingredients
- skin-on pork belly1 lb
- fresh ginger4 med
- scallion2 med
- whole Sichuan peppercorns1 tsp
- Shaoxing rice wine2 tbsp
- English cucumber1/2 med
- fresh garlic10 large clove
- kosher salt1/8 tsp
- toasted sesame oil1 tsp
- Fuzhi Jiangyou3 tbsp
- Sichuan chili oil3 tbsp
- black rice vinegar1 tsp
Method
- 01
Submerge the block of pork belly, ginger, scallion knot, peppercorns, and Shaoxing wine in a pot of cold tap water and bring to a rolling boil.
Skim off any gray foam that rises to the surface. Starting the meat in cold water prevents the exterior proteins from instantly seizing, effectively drawing out and trapping undesirable odors.
- 02
Reduce the heat, simmer gently for 20 minutes, then turn off the stove and let the pork steep undisturbed in the hot broth for 30 minutes.
This grandmother-approved steeping method allows the muscle fibers to relax and reabsorb moisture as the liquid cools, guaranteeing bouncy, extraordinarily juicy meat.
- 03
Remove the pork, pat it dry, and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes before slicing it as thinly as humanly possible.
Firming up the fat in the freezer is the home cook's secret to achieving paper-thin, delicate slices without needing a commercial meat slicer.
- 04
Pound the garlic cloves and salt in a mortar and pestle until they break down into a sticky, fragrant mud.
Do not simply mince the garlic with a knife. Mechanical crushing destroys the cell walls entirely, triggering an enzymatic reaction that releases the garlic's true, fiery bite.
- 05
Stir the sesame oil, Fuzhi Jiangyou, chili oil, and black rice vinegar into the garlic paste.
The sesame oil helps mellow the aggressive garlic bite and prevents it from oxidizing, while the heavy sediment of the chili oil gives the dressing its iconic texture.
- 06
Drape the translucent slices of pork over a mound of cucumber ribbons and spoon the dressing generously over the meat.
Serve cold or at room temperature alongside steamed rice, letting the hot grain contrast with the cool, rich, fiercely seasoned pork.
Notes
The secret to authentic weeknight Sichuan cooking is maintaining your pantry.
If you have jars of Fuzhi Jiangyou and roasted chili oil ready in the fridge, the active cooking time for this dish drops to less than 15 minutes.
From Cook Sichuan in America.