Twice-Cooked Pork

I was a little skeptical of this dish while it was cooking. Pork belly can either be wonderfully good like bacon or way too fatty. The flavors on this one came together beautifully at the end for a richly flavored dish. I did notice that I preferred the cuts of meat that I had sliced more thinly because they crisped up much more nicely. If that's a concern for you, I recommend erring on the side of making them too thin.

With a little planning ahead, this dish is incredibly quick and perfect for a weeknight. The author suggests that you buy a larger piece of pork belly, boil it, slice it once cooled, and freeze the slices so you can make this dinner in 15 minutes. (The slices don't need to be thawed before they cook.) If you're not ready for that level of commitment, you could just boil the pork belly the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight.

One year ago: Pork Tenderloin with Spiced Rhubarb Chutney

Twice-Cooked Pork (from Every Grain of Rice)

Ingredients
7 oz/200g boneless pork belly, with skin
6 baby leeks, trimmed and cut into 1 - 2" diagonal slices (I just used scallions here)
2 tbsp cooking oil or lard
1 tbsp Sichuan chili bean paste
1 tsp sweet fermented sauce
2 tsp fermented black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
a few slices of fresh red chili or bell pepper for color (I upped this to a whole bell pepper)

1. Place pork in saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer until cooked through, ~20 minutes. Remove from water. Let cook, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight to cool completely (it needs to cool completely so the layers won't separate when you slice it!).
2. When completely cool, thinly slice the pork.
3. Add oil or lard to wok over high flame. Add pork, reduce heat to medium and stir-fry until slightly curved.
4. Push slices to side of wok and add chili bean paste in the empty spot. Stir-fry until oil is red and fragrant.
5. Add sweet fermented sauce and black beans. Stir-fry briefly.
6. Mix everything together, adding soy sauce and sugar.
7. Add leeks and red pepper and continue to stir-fry until just cooked. Serve.