Ingredients for Dry-Fried Braised Pork: 1500g pork belly, salt to taste, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 25g green onions, 25g ginger, 1 star anise, 1 garlic clove, 2 potatoes, 1 apricot oyster mushroom, dried red chili peppers to taste, Sichuan peppercorns to taste, rock sugar to taste, a splash of cooking wine, a dash of broad bean paste.
Method:
Step 1: Peel the potatoes and cut them along with the apricot oyster mushrooms into pieces and set aside.
Step 2: Slice the ginger and cut the green onions and garlic into chunks and set aside.
Step 3: Blanch the pork belly and cut it into pieces and set aside.
Step 4: Heat a pan with a little oil over medium heat, add the broad bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red, then add half of the ginger, green onions, and garlic to sauté until fragrant.
Step 5: Add the pork belly, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, rock sugar to taste, and a splash of cooking wine, stir-fry to glaze the meat.
Step 6: Stir-fry until the pork belly changes color and starts to release oil, add a small bowl of water and bring to a boil.
Step 7: Transfer to a pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes after the steam starts.
Step 8: While braising the pork, in another pan, add oil and fry the potato pieces until golden brown.
Step 9: Place the potatoes on paper towels to drain excess oil.
Step 10: Stir-fry the apricot oyster mushrooms with a little oil until cooked.
Step 11: Prepare the dried red chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise, cut the chili peppers into three sections (I didn’t cut mine as they were quite spicy).
Step 12: After the braised pork is cooked, remove it from the pot and set aside. In another pan, add oil and sauté the remaining half of the ginger, green onions, garlic, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise over low heat until fragrant. Add the braised pork and stir-fry over high heat.
Step 13: Add the fried potatoes and apricot oyster mushrooms, stir-fry for 1 minute, season with a little salt and MSG, then serve.
Cooking Tips for Dry-Fried Braised Pork: 1. No need to caramelize sugar; many people find it difficult to master, so you can directly use dark soy sauce for a beautiful color. 2. For a sweeter taste, add more rock sugar to taste. 3. Broad bean paste must be stir-fried over low heat to release the red oil, and the chili peppers should be slightly yellowed. 4. I used a pressure cooker, so I added only a small bowl of water; if you don’t use a pressure cooker, add water slightly covering the meat, but not too much, as dry-frying does not require soup, and too much water will dilute the flavor and affect the color.
After braising, you can reduce the sauce to thicken it. 5. Add salt to the potatoes and apricot oyster mushrooms at the end, never add salt when braising the meat initially. 6. When adding dried red chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise, sauté them over low heat to release the fragrance; high heat will burn them quickly without releasing the aroma.
There are tricks to making delicious dishes, and each of my dishes has its own little secret. Search for ‘Sichuan Cuisine’ to directly view my recipes!
