The Hirshon Sichuan Garlic Pork – 蒜泥白肉

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Sichuan Garlic Pork Image Used Under Creative Commons License From dodocook.com

Citizens, this is one of my favorite Sichuan dishes! Suan ni bai rou (蒜泥白肉) is simply thin slices of cooked pork belly (aka uncured bacon), served cold, and marinated with a delectable soy-chili-garlic sauce. The direct translation is simple: garlic white pork.

My version is very traditional and is also easy to make – try it for a spicy appetizer or palate-cleansing course in a multi-stage Chinese feast!

Battle on – the Generalissimo

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For the sauce:

3 fresh red and green Thai chilies, minced
4 tbsp finely minced garlic
8 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn oil (preferred) or chili oil
1 tbsp chili oil
6 tbsp Baoning (preferred) or Zhenjiang rice vinegar
5 tbsp pork broth
1 teaspoon chicken stock granules

For the pork belly:

2 lbs pork belly
1 ounce Baoning (preferred) or Zhenjiang rice vinegar
1 ounce Shaoxing rice wine
5 cups water
2 stalks scallion
1 knob ginger, peeled and sliced

For garnish:

1 scallion, diced
Strips of cucumber, sliced very thin on a mandoline, and rolled into cylinders
1 small handful fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Toasted white sesame seeds
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1. Clean pork belly slab. Put in boiling water with wine, vinegar, scallions, sliced ginger for 1 hour on low heat.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by adding all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Mix well.

3. After an hour, turn off the heat and let the meat cool in the broth for about 30 minutes. Add 5 tbsp of the pork broth into the sauce mixture.

4. After meat is cooled down, slice into very thin pieces, drizzle sauce over and serve with garnishes.