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Twice-Cooked Pork

This recipe is an adaptation of "Twice-Cooked Pork" (Hui Guo Rou), made easy for home cooking. It's packed with tips for achieving tender pork and crisp vegetables. Enjoy an authentic flavor with two types of sauce mixtures, easily prepared. Try this superb Chinese dish that's perfect with rice!

📖Cooking Basics

miso（ramen）

Steps

Prepare the first sauce mixture. In a bowl, combine Sweet Bean Sauce 1 tbsp, Doubanjiang (Spicy Bean Paste) 1 tsp, and Douchi (Fermented Black Beans) 1 tsp (if Douchi is unavailable, substitute with Miso 1 tsp).
🕒 00:15
Prepare the second sauce mixture to be added later. In a separate bowl, mix Soy Sauce 1/2 tbsp, Cooking Sake (Rice Wine) 1 tbsp, and Sugar 1 tsp until well combined. If using miso as a substitute for Douchi, mix it thoroughly here to dissolve.
🕒 00:44
Prepare the cabbage. Tear Cabbage 1/6 head (approx. 200g) into a large bowl. Finely chop the tough core separately. Tip: Tearing the cabbage creates a rough surface that absorbs sauce better. You can tear them slightly larger as they will shrink when cooked.
🕒 01:08
Gently rub the torn cabbage. Tip: Rubbing the leaves slightly damages their surface, allowing the sauce to penetrate better.
🕒 01:41
Finely chop the cabbage core. Tip: Cutting the core into small pieces ensures even cooking with the rest of the cabbage.
🕒 01:53
Prepare the bell peppers. Push the stems of 3 Bell Peppers inwards and remove the seeds and pith. Tip: Choose firm, crisp bell peppers for the best texture.
🕒 02:09
Cut the bell peppers into bite-sized pieces.
🕒 02:46
Prepare the leek. Thinly slice 1/2 Leek diagonally.
🕒 02:50
Prepare the garlic. Remove the sprouts from 2 cloves of Garlic and mince them. Tip: Aromatic ingredients like garlic and ginger are best chopped last to prevent their strong scents from transferring to other vegetables.
🕒 03:04
Add the minced garlic to the sweet bean sauce mixture (prepared in step 1).
🕒 03:24
Prepare the pork belly. Cut 150g Pork Belly into bite-sized pieces.
🕒 03:36
Place the cut pork belly in a bowl and season. Add a pinch of Salt and Cooking Sake (Rice Wine) 1 tbsp, and massage well.
🕒 03:51
Add potato starch and massage again. Add Potato Starch 1 tbsp and massage thoroughly. Loosen any clumps. Tip: Marinating with sake adds moisture, and the potato starch then acts as a barrier to prevent moisture loss and helps the sauce adhere better.
🕒 04:07
Stir-fry the bell peppers. Heat a small amount of oil in a cold pan over medium-low heat. Once warm, add the Bell Peppers and stir-fry. Tip: Cook ingredients for their appropriate times and combine at the end to preserve each texture.
🕒 04:32
Add the cabbage and stir-fry. Once the bell peppers have a slight char and gloss, add the massaged Cabbage and a pinch of Salt, and stir-fry briefly. Tip: Don't overcook the cabbage, as it can become mushy; stop when it looks slightly glossy. Cooking it simultaneously with the bell peppers can overcook the cabbage, so add it with a slight delay.
🕒 04:53
Remove the stir-fried bell peppers and cabbage from the pan.
🕒 05:15
Stir-fry the pork belly. Add oil to the same pan and heat over medium-low heat. Once warm, add the prepared Pork Belly and stir-fry. Tip: Coating the pork with potato starch and frying it helps to lock in moisture and makes it easier for the sauce to cling.
🕒 05:21
Remove the stir-fried pork belly from the pan. If there is excessive fat, wipe it off with paper towels.
🕒 05:55
Stir-fry the sweet bean paste and garlic. Place the sweet bean sauce and garlic mixture (added in step 10) in a cold pan and heat over low heat. Tip: Stir-frying sweet bean paste and garlic in oil brings out their sweetness, umami, and aroma. Cook over low heat to prevent burning.
🕒 06:15
Add the sauce mixture and stir. Once the sweet bean paste is fragrant, add the soy sauce, sake, and sugar mixture (prepared in step 2) and stir to loosen without clumping.
🕒 06:48
Add the leek and stir-fried vegetables to the pan. Add the sliced Leek and the removed stir-fried vegetables (from step 16), and mix briefly. Tip: Mixing the pork first can cause the sauce to clump due to the potato starch; coat the vegetables with the sauce first, then add the pork.
🕒 07:02
Add the pork and mix. Add the removed stir-fried pork (from step 18) and mix everything briefly to coat.
🕒 07:22
Plate the finished Twice-Cooked Pork. Tip: The key to a delicious stir-fry is tender pork and crisp vegetables. Gently rubbing the cabbage helps it absorb flavor. This is especially effective with winter cabbage.
🕒 07:31