Twice-cooked Pork, 回锅肉 huíguō ròu, is not that spicy like Sliced Pork in Hot Chili Oil. The special point of this Sichuan food recipe is that the streaky pork is cooked twice, firstly boiled and then fried with Sichuan broad bean paste and fermented soya bean which are the crucial condiments in Sichuan dishes, and green chili and garlic bolt are also added. It was once considered to be the best Sichuan dish in the rural area of Sichuan.
With broad bean paste and garlic sprouts added, the Twice Cooked Pork looks red and green in color. For the pork is double cooked, it is fat but not greasy.
The Twice Cooked Pork, also called Double Cooked Pork or Hui Guo Rou in Chinese, is said to rank the first among Sichuan dishes. If there is a chance to go to Sichuan, it is strongly recommended to taste the authentic Twice Cooked Pork. The dish, sister dish of Yanjian Rou (Chili Pork), has spread its fame throughout China even the world. It tastes more flavorsome if eating together with rice, so many housewives would love to prepare for their family members and guests. Nowadays, the dish varies a lot in taste according to the flavors of different areas by using different ingredients and seasonings, but the way of cooking the pork is unchanged as the following recipe.
Legend of Twice Cooked Port
The legend goes that in ancient time people in Sichuan Province would eat the Double Cooked Pork on the first and the fifteen days in the first lunar month every year. At that time, the common way was to boil the pork first, then fry over high heat, which is quite similar with the present cooking method.
In late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a Hanlin, member of Imperial Academy, surnamed Ling engaged himself to study the cooking after he was demoted from the court. He changed the original cooking method by getting rid of the meat smell first. Then he steamed the pork in a waterproof container. In this way, the freshness of the pork was kept and the appearance was bright. Since then, the steamed Twice Cooked Pork, which was originally popular in Sichuan Province only, became well-known throughout China.
Other materials show that the Twice Cooked Pork can be dated back to the North Song Dynasty (960-1127), and the cooking method became popular in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Till the Qing Dynasty, the broad bean paste was created, which helped to improve the flavor of the dish. From then on, the Double Cooked Pork had become a must-try in Sichuan Cuisine.