Twice-Cooked Pork
Pork first simmered, then stir-fried with peppers and bean paste.
← Home Shanghai offal braised
Braised Pork Intestine and Eel
Pork small intestine, fried crisp then braised dark and sweet, finished with eel shreds and water bamboo. Adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report — 草头圈子, report 163. This is an offal dish; the honest name is kept, not softened.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 草头圈子_163.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 20 minutesCook: 15 minutesTotal: 35 minutesServings: 1–2Difficulty: Medium–HardRegion: ShanghaiFlavour: Savoury-sweet braised
Home adaptation note: The report is one portion (about 350 g finished). Quantities below are that portion.
Why this works
The structure here is two-stage cooking for texture. Pork small intestine is scrubbed three times with salt and flour, blanched for five minutes, then fried at one hundred and eighty degrees for about two minutes until golden and lightly blistered. That frying is what sets the rings so they stay springy instead of flabby through the braise. The braise itself is only eight minutes on medium heat, followed by a three-minute high-heat reduction, and the eel and water bamboo go in right at the end so the eel, which was slid through oil at one hundred and fifty degrees for forty seconds, does not overcook. Sugar is the colour-maker: the report points to the point where sugar begins to caramelise as the moment the sauce turns bright and glossy. Every component is heated through to the report's temperatures, which matters more than usual with offal and eel. Served hot over rice, it is a deeply savoury, old-Shanghai plate that rewards cooks willing to handle offal properly.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pork small intestine, cleaned | 6.3 oz | 180 g | Buy pre-cleaned if available; scrub again at home (adaptation). |
| Eel, boned and cut into shreds | 2.8 oz | 80 g | Fresh eel from a fishmonger; frozen eel is a poorer substitute (adaptation). |
| Water bamboo (jiaobai), peeled and sliced | 2.1 oz | 60 g | Canned water bamboo, drained, works (adaptation). |
| Garlic, whole cloves | 0.7 oz | 20 g | — |
| Soy sauce (dark:light = 1:3) | 1 tbsp + 2 tsp | 25 ml | Roughly 6 ml dark and 19 ml light (adaptation of the ratio). |
| Rock sugar powder / sugar | 1 tbsp | 15 g | Report says powdered rock sugar. |
| Shaoxing wine | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 20 ml | — |
| Scallion and ginger, crushed | 0.35 oz | 10 g | For blanching. |
| White pepper | A pinch | A pinch | For the eel; no quantity in the report (adaptation). |
| Neutral oil for frying | 2 tbsp | 30 ml | Plus enough oil to fry the intestine; the report's 30 ml is the table figure and is low for deep-frying — use enough to cover and note the difference (adaptation). |
| Water | 2/3 cup | 150 ml | For the braise. |
Equipment
- Deep pot for frying
- Wok or large skillet for the braise
- Thermometer if you have one; otherwise the report's visual cues (golden, blistered)
Steps
- Clean and blanch the intestine. Rub the intestine three times with salt and flour to remove slime. Blanch from cold water with scallion, ginger and wine for 5 minutes, then plunge into ice water at once and cut into 4 cm pieces. Do not overrun the time by more than 30 seconds or it toughens.
- Fry to set. Heat oil to 180 °C and fry the intestine pieces about 2 minutes until golden and lightly blistered. Drain. (Fried pieces can be chilled up to 48 hours, but must be fully reheated before serving.)
- Slide the eel. Toss the eel shreds with wine and white pepper. Slide through oil at 150 °C until just changed colour and the centre reaches at least 75 °C, about 40 seconds. Set aside.
- Blanch the water bamboo. Blanch the water bamboo slices in boiling water for 30 seconds, cool, and drain.
- Braise and reduce. Leave a little oil in the pan and fry the garlic cloves until lightly golden. Add the intestine, soy sauce, sugar and wine, then 150 ml water. Bring to a boil, simmer on medium heat 8 minutes, add the eel and water bamboo, and reduce on high heat about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and coats the pan and the whole dish holds at least 80 °C for a minute or more.
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Technique: Fry first, braise second
Frying sets the intestine's shape and texture; without it, the braise would leave it soft and flabby. The eel is deliberately kept out until the last three minutes, because it cooks in seconds and turns tough if it simmers with the intestine from the start.
Variations
- No eel: Use only intestine and water bamboo, keeping the same braise; the dish loses its second texture but holds together.
- Milder sweetness: Cut the sugar to 10 g for a more savoury braise; the sauce will be less glossy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I clean pork intestine at home?
Buy it pre-cleaned if you can. Otherwise scrub repeatedly with salt and flour, rinse well, and blanch as directed; if any odour remains after blanching, discard it.
Is eel safe to eat here?
The report requires the eel to reach at least 75 °C and the finished dish at least 80 °C. Follow those temperatures and do not serve eel rare.
Storage
Best eaten fresh. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat to a full boil and do not reheat more than once. Do not freeze the finished dish.
Braised Pork Intestine and Eel — Recipe Card
Crisp-fried pork intestine braised dark and sweet with eel and water bamboo.
Prep: 20 minutesCook: 15 minutesTotal: 35 minutesServings: 1–2
Ingredients: 180 g pork small intestine; 80 g eel shreds; 60 g water bamboo; 20 g garlic; 25 ml soy sauce (1:3 dark:light); 15 g sugar; 20 ml wine; 10 g scallion and ginger; frying oil; 150 ml water.
Steps: 1) Scrub intestine, blanch 5 minutes, ice, cut. 2) Fry at 180 °C for 2 minutes. 3) Slide eel at 150 °C for 40 seconds. 4) Blanch water bamboo 30 seconds. 5) Braise intestine 8 minutes, add eel and bamboo, reduce 3 minutes.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 草头圈子 (data/reports/163.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. Source: report 163, titled 草头圈子; its ingredient table lists pork intestine, eel and water bamboo and no clover, and this page is titled for the dish actually cooked. The low frying-oil table figure is handled as an adaptation in the ingredient table.