A true classic, Twice-Cooked Pork is everything you’d expect from Sichuanese cuisine: fragrant, spicy and utterly moreish! Served as part of a banquet or with just some plain rice and a fried egg, this is simple Chinese cooking at its best.

Pre-cooking the pork may initially seem like a bit of a faf, but don’t let this put you off. It’s definitely worth the effort, as the resulting pork is meltingly tender! Once the pork has been cooked and cooled, the dish takes mere minutes to put together – from wok to mouth in a matter of minutes!

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Twice-Cooked Pork: Serves 4

• 250g boneless pork belly, skin on
• 4 baby leeks, washed
• 1/2 red pepper (capsicum)
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. chilli bean paste
• 1 tsp. bean sauce
• 2 tsp. fermented black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
• A dash of dark soya sauce
• 1/2 tsp. white sugar
• 1/4 cup chicken stock or water
• 1 spring onion

Method:

1. Place the pork in a saucepan and add enough water to cover
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently until cooked through (about 30 minutes)
3. Drain, allow to cool slightly and then refrigerate for a few hours (preferably overnight) – the meat must be completely cold before trying to cut it
4. When you start preparing the meal, remove the pork from the fridge and cut it into very thin slices
5. Prepare your leeks by slicing them thickly on the diagonal, do the same with the spring onion
6. Dice the red pepper
7. Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat, add the pork slices
8. Reduce the heat slightly and fry the strips of pork until slightly golden – beware of spitting oil! Remove the pork, leaving the oil in the wok
9. Add the chilli bean paste to the wok and fry for a minute until the oil turns red (again, beware the wok-spit!)
10. Now add the bean sauce and, if using, the black beans
11. Return the pork to the wok
12. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the dark soya sauce and sugar
13. Add the leeks and red pepper, followed by the stock/water
14. Stir-fry furiously for 2 minutes
15. Add the spring onions and give everything a final mix
16. Serve immediately