Twice-Cooked Pork (回锅肉) — Sichuan Hui Guo Rou

Name: Twice-Cooked Pork (回锅肉) — Sichuan Hui Guo Rou
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 500g whole piece pork belly (skin on); 2 tbsp doubanjiang; 1 tbsp tianmianjiang (sweet bean paste); 2 leeks or 4 baby leeks, cut into 3cm sections; 1 green pepper, cut into squares; 2 cloves garlic, sliced; 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1 tsp soy sauce; 1 tsp sugar; 2 tbsp neutral oil

Prep:30 min

Cook:30 min

Serves:2–4

Difficulty:Medium

Twice-cooked pork (回锅肉, huí guō ròu) is one of Sichuan's most essential dishes — pork belly that's first simmered whole until just cooked, then sliced thin and stir-fried with doubanjiang, leeks, and peppers until the fat renders out and the edges curl and crisp. The name literally means 'return to the pot meat,' describing the double-cooking technique. The result is deeply savoury, slightly spicy, and irresistibly rich.

Twice-cooked pork is considered one of Sichuan's 'nine major dishes' (九大碗) and is a staple of everyday Sichuan home cooking. The technique of boiling before frying was developed to use tougher cuts efficiently.

Ingredients

• 500g whole piece pork belly (skin on)
• 2 tbsp doubanjiang
• 1 tbsp tianmianjiang (sweet bean paste)
• 2 leeks or 4 baby leeks, cut into 3cm sections
• 1 green pepper, cut into squares
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp neutral oil

Instructions

1
Simmer whole pork belly in water with ginger and spring onion for 20 minutes until just cooked through. Remove and cool.
2
Slice the cooked pork belly as thinly as possible — 2-3mm is ideal. Partially freezing it for 15 minutes makes this easier.
3
Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add pork slices and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the edges curl and become slightly crispy and the fat renders out.
4
Push pork to the side. Add doubanjiang and stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant and oil turns red.
5
Add tianmianjiang, garlic, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir to combine.
6
Add leeks and green pepper. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until leeks are wilted but still have some bite.
7
Serve immediately over steamed rice.

Pro Tips

💡Slice the pork as thin as possible — this maximises the surface area that gets crispy and caramelised.
💡Don't skip the boiling step — it firms the pork and makes thin slicing possible.
💡The pork should curl at the edges when it's ready — this is called 'dengjian' (灯盏) or 'lamp cup' shape.