Home-style Recipe for Water-Boiled Sliced Pork

The flavor of Water-Boiled Sliced Pork is numbingly spicy and intensely aromatic. Its unique texture and rich taste are inseparable from the use of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. During the cooking process, it is important to master the amount of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, ensuring a pronounced numbing sensation without excessive spiciness. Furthermore, the combination of seasonings is also crucial, with ingredients like doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste), minced garlic, and ginger slices adding additional layers of flavor to the dish.
 Ingredients for Water-Boiled Sliced Pork

Steps:
1.Prepare the ingredients for today’s dish. Cut dried chili peppers into sections, chop scallions, cut garlic sprouts into pieces, mince ginger and garlic, slice lean meat into thin pieces, and clean the Chinese cabbage. Remember to slice the lean meat thinly for better texture.

2.Now, add a tablespoon of salt. When marinating the meat slices, make sure to use a generous amount of salt. Mix well with your hands. If it feels slightly sticky, add some purified water. The purpose of adding water is to make the meat slices tender. Continue mixing.

3.When the meat slices become sticky again, add some more purified water. Mix thoroughly. Remember to add water in two separate portions. Now, add an egg and mix well with your hands. This will make the meat slices very tender.

4.Finally, add a small amount of starch. You don’t need too much starch, just enough to coat the meat slices. After marinating all the lean meat slices like this, add some cooking oil and give it a light stir. This will prevent them from sticking together when cooking. Now, let’s start cooking.

5.First, add a little cooking oil to the pan and put in the dried chili pepper sections. Add half of the minced ginger and garlic, and stir-fry until fragrant. Now, add a little hot pot base sauce, a tablespoon of spicy bean paste, and two tablespoons of homemade chili oil. Fry the hot pot base sauce until fragrant. Be careful not to use too high heat during frying, as it may burn the chili.

6.Add the garlic sprout leaves first, followed by the Chinese cabbage. Stir-fry them together. Chinese cabbage is used as a base ingredient. When it becomes 50% cooked, add purified water. You don’t need too much water, just enough to cover the cabbage.

7.Bring it to a boil over high heat until the Chinese cabbage is cooked. Once it boils, add a tablespoon of salt for seasoning. Add a tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorn powder and a few drops of vinegar. Add some sugar to balance the flavors and mix well.

8.After the Chinese cabbage is cooked, remove it from the pot. Drain the soup and ladle it into soup bowls as a base. Now, turn the heat to the lowest setting, leaving a clean red soup in the pot.

9.Now, add the meat slices. Use chopsticks to separate the meat slices when they are added to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-low and cook the meat slices until done. Once the meat slices are cooked, turn off the heat. Do not overcook them, as they will become tough. Transfer the meat slices and soup into the soup bowls together.

10.In a separate pan, heat a tablespoon of cooking oil until it is about 70% hot.

11.Sprinkle Sichuan peppercorn powder evenly on top of the meat slices. Add a tablespoon of chili powder, minced ginger, minced garlic, and chopped scallions. Pour the heated oil directly onto the meat slices. Use slightly more oil for better flavor. A delicious home-style dish is now ready.

Tips:
1.Soup base handling: Sauté onions, ginger, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant. Add spicy bean paste and hot pot base sauce to create a red oil. Then, add soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, chicken bouillon, salt, and an appropriate amount of water. Bring it to a boil.
2.Cooking the meat: Place the marinated meat slices in the pot and cook until they change color. Remove from the pot and plate.
3.Meat handling: For tender cuts, use the dry starch method for dishes like stir-fried meat slices or shredded pork. For tougher cuts, use the batter coating method for dishes that require the “slide-cooking” technique.

This dish of Water-Boiled Sliced Pork embodies both a fiery and exhilarating aspect, as well as a gentle and delicate side. It is a masterpiece in the realm of Chinese Sichuan cuisine, showcasing the distinctive allure of Chinese culinary culture. Whether during the chilly winter or scorching summer, it never fails to provide a gratifying and comforting experience. Let us indulge in the wonders of Water-Boiled Sliced Pork, relishing its intoxicating flavors while exploring the magnificent and vibrant world of Chinese gastronomy!