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回锅肉回鍋肉

huí guō ròu ㄏㄨㄟˊ ㄍㄨㄛ ㄖㄡˋ wui4 wo1 juk6

回

Often called the "number one dish of Sichuan," twice-cooked pork is the meal a Sichuanese family cooks to feel at home — pork is first boiled, then "returned to the wok" (回锅) to fry until the slices curl into little lamps glistening with chili-bean paste.

The story behind it

The name literally means "returned-to-the-pot meat," describing the two-step method of poaching the pork whole and then stir-frying it. The dish is rooted in everyday thrift and ritual: families traditionally boiled a block of pork as an offering, then sliced and refried the cooked meat so nothing was wasted. Its signature flavor comes from Pixian doubanjiang, the fermented broad-bean chili paste that is the backbone of Sichuan home cooking, often rounded out with sweet fermented sauce and fresh garlic greens.

Ingredients

  • 400g skin-on pork belly (one solid piece)
  • 2 tbsp Pixian doubanjiang (broad-bean chili paste)
  • 1 tbsp sweet fermented flour sauce (tianmianjiang), optional
  • 1 bunch garlic greens or leeks (about 150g), cut on the diagonal
  • 3 slices ginger and 2 spring onions (for poaching)
  • 1 tbsp fermented black beans (douchi), optional
  • 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp neutral oil

Steps

  1. Put the whole piece of pork belly in cold water with the ginger and spring onions, bring to a boil, then simmer 20-25 minutes until just cooked through. Lift out and let cool.
  2. Slice the cooled pork as thinly as you can into pieces about 4-5cm wide, keeping the skin-fat-lean layers intact.
  3. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat, add the pork and stir-fry until the slices curl up and the edges turn golden and slightly translucent, rendering some fat.
  4. Push the pork aside, turn the heat down, and add the doubanjiang (and douchi if using); fry gently until the oil turns deep red and fragrant, then stir in the tianmianjiang.
  5. Add the sugar and soy sauce, toss the pork to coat evenly in the red sauce.
  6. Throw in the garlic greens, stir-fry just until wilted but still bright, and serve hot with steamed rice.