辣椒炒肉
là jiāo chǎo ròu laat6 ziu1 caau2 juk6
Screaming-hot wok, green chilies blistered soft, pork belly with crisp edges — this is the dish Hunanese people miss first when they leave home, eaten over two bowls of rice.
The story behind it
Hunan eats more fresh chili per person than almost anywhere on earth, and 辣椒炒肉 is the province’s daily proof — the dish every Hunanese mother makes and every Changsha restaurant lists first. The chilies are the point, not the garnish: thin-walled green 螺丝椒 or 杭椒, pressed into the wok until their skins blister (虎皮, “tiger skin”). No sugar — Hunan cooking famously refuses sweetness.
Ingredients
- 300 g pork belly or shoulder, thinly sliced
- 250 g thin-skinned green chilies, sliced on the bias
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced; 1 tsp fermented black beans (optional)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce + ½ tsp dark soy
- Pinch of salt — and no sugar
Steps
- Press the chilies in a dry wok with salt until blistered and soft; remove.
- Render the pork slices until the edges crisp and curl.
- Add garlic and black beans, then return the chilies.
- Season with the soys, toss hard over the highest heat, and rush to the table.