Huí Guō Ròu 回鍋肉 (Twice Cooked Pork)

Lately we have been on a little bit of a Chinese food kick, and this week’s post is in homage to that hankering we’ve had. My go to has always been General Tso’s Chicken, but if you haven’t heard, our friends Bill and Hayley have already cracked that nut in their cookbook, Gather.

Twice cooked pork, sometimes called double cooked pork, is traditionally known as Huí Guō Ròu, translating to “return pot pork.” We love all pork products (hello, bacon), and thought this was an interesting opportunity. Plus, it gave us an opportunity to return to our paleo hoisin sauce (which we made a long, long time ago, back when our camera was an iPhone 4s).

The one piece of advice I will give is to plan out where to pork belly in advance, and go for a meatier cut (versus fattier), if possible. I made trips to several stores, as did Heather, and my parents on their way to our house, all with no luck. Thankfully our local international market had pork belly in abundance at a great price. I’d rather source locally in the future, hence the suggestion to plan ahead.

Ingredients
1 lb pork belly
1 serrano pepper, sliced (and seeded if you’re not a fan of spice)
2 green onions, sliced into 2″ segments
2 thin slices of ginger, cut into thin strips
5 cloves garlic, pressed
3 C chopped cabbage, about 1/3 head
2 Tbsp avocado oil
3 C water, for boiling pork
1/2 Tbsp chili paste
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
2 Tbsp homemade hoisin sauce
1/4 C rice wine
3/4 C chicken stock
3 Tbsp water with 2 Tbsp arrowroot powder, to thicken sauce

Method

Place pork belly in a pot with enough water to cover, for us about 3 C. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered for 10-12 minutes.

Allow the pork belly to rest for 5-10 minutes, and cut into 1/2″ slices, and then halve.

Heat the avocado oil in your wok, or other large skillet, on high for a couple of minutes, and then add in green onion, ginger, serrano, and garlic. Cook for 30-60 seconds.

Add in cabbage and pork, and sauté for 5 minutes.

Pour in sauce, and mix thoroughly.

Cover wok and allow to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.

Stir in mixture of water and arrowroot powder in order to thicken the sauce. Plate and serve shortly thereafter.

We hope you’ll make this as well, and share with your friends! Who says you have to order take out?