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Twice-Cooked Pork
First boiled, then stir-fried: pork belly slices curled into little cups, coated in red bean-paste oil with garlic shoots and chillies. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 回锅肉, report 4.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 回锅肉_4.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 20 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 25 minutesServings: 1–2Difficulty: Easy–MediumRegion: SichuanFlavour: Savoury, lightly spicy
Why this works
Twice-cooked pork works because the two cooks do opposite jobs. The first cook — a gentle 15-minute boil of the whole belly — renders just enough fat and firms the meat so it can be sliced 0.3 cm thin without falling apart. The second cook is fast and fierce: a minute over high heat curls those slices into the classic lamp-shaped cups, which catch the sauce instead of lying flat in it. Doubanjiang goes in on medium heat for exactly 30 seconds, long enough for its red oil to separate but not long enough to turn bitter, and sweet bean paste follows for a rounder, slightly sweet depth. Garlic shoots are split into white and green parts for a reason: the whites can take 30 seconds of heat, while the greens need only the final 10, or they yellow and weep. No thickener is needed — the rendered fat glosses the sauce on its own.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pork belly with skin | 5.3 oz | 150 g | Skin-on belly curls best. Boneless pork shoulder is a leaner substitute but will not cup as well (adaptation). |
| Erjingtiao chillies, sliced into rings | 1.8 oz | 50 g | Long, mild red chillies. Fresno or mild long red chillies are the closest substitute (adaptation). |
| Garlic shoots (garlic sprouts), white and green parts separated | 1.8 oz | 50 g | Spring onions are the closest substitute if garlic shoots are unavailable (adaptation). |
| Pixian doubanjiang | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 20 g | — |
| Sweet bean paste (tianmianjiang) | 2 tsp | 10 g | — |
| Ginger slices | 1 tsp | 5 g | For the boiling water. |
| Cooking wine | 2 tsp | 10 ml | Shaoxing wine; for the boiling water. |
| Neutral cooking oil | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 20 ml | — |
| White sesame seeds or scallions, to garnish (optional) | 1 tsp | 3 g | Optional, from the report. |
Equipment
- Large skillet or wok — no wok required (adaptation)
- Pot for boiling the pork
- Slotted spoon
Steps
- Boil the pork. Put the whole belly in a pot of cold water with the ginger and cooking wine. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, until a chopstick slides in easily and no blood remains. Lift out, cool, and slice 0.3 cm thin.
- Prepare the vegetables. Slice the chillies into rings on the diagonal. Cut the garlic shoots into sections, keeping the white parts and green leaves separate.
- Curl the pork. Heat the oil in a hot pan and stir-fry the pork slices over high heat for 1 minute, until they curl into cups and render their fat.
- Bloom the pastes. Add the doubanjiang and stir-fry over medium heat for 30 seconds, until the red oil separates. Add the sweet bean paste and fry for 15 seconds more.
- Add the vegetables. Add the garlic-shoot whites and the chillies and stir-fry over high heat for 30 seconds. Add the garlic-shoot greens and toss fast for 10 seconds, then take off the heat. Garnish if you like and serve with rice.
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Technique: the lamp-shaped curl
The dish is named for its shape: slices curled like little oil lamps. That curl only happens when the belly is boiled first, sliced thin, and hit with high heat — too thick and the slices lie flat, too thin and they burn. The report's other timing rule matters just as much: doubanjiang on medium heat for 30 seconds to release red oil, never on fierce heat, or it turns bitter. Cook pork to 71 °C / 160 °F throughout (home food-safety guidance, added as an adaptation).
Variations
- Make-ahead.: The belly can be boiled, sliced and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead (from the report). The stir-fry itself then takes about 5 minutes.
- Milder.: Use fewer chillies or a mild long red chilli; the bean pastes still carry the savoury flavour.
- Leaner cut.: Pork shoulder slices work, but add a splash more oil and expect less curling (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
Why did my pork slices stay flat?
They were probably cut thicker than 0.3 cm, or the pan was not hot enough. Thin slices and a genuinely hot pan are what make them cup.
Can I skip the sweet bean paste?
You can, but the dish will taste sharper and saltier. A teaspoon of sugar stirred in with the doubanjiang is the closest fallback (adaptation).
What if I cannot find garlic shoots?
Spring onions are the usual substitute: use the white parts like the shoot whites and the greens like the leaves, with the same split timing.
Storage
Best eaten fresh, while the slices are still curled and crisp-edged. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated; reheat in a hot pan until steaming throughout and expect the slices to relax and soften. Do not reheat more than once.
Twice-Cooked Pork — Recipe Card
Twice-cooked pork belly with garlic shoots and chillies in a savoury bean-paste sauce.
Prep: 20 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 25 minutesServings: 1–2
Ingredients: 150 g pork belly; 50 g chillies; 50 g garlic shoots; 20 g doubanjiang; 10 g sweet bean paste; 5 g ginger; 10 ml cooking wine; 20 ml oil.
Steps: 1) Boil belly 15 minutes, cool, slice 0.3 cm. 2) Stir-fry slices on high heat 1 minute until curled. 3) Doubanjiang 30 seconds, sweet paste 15 seconds. 4) Garlic-shoot whites and chillies 30 seconds, greens 10 seconds.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 回锅肉 (data/reports/4.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. Original poster image: clouchef.com (回锅肉_4.jpeg). Serving size for home use (1–2), the chilli and garlic-shoot substitutes, and the safety temperature are adaptations and are labelled as such.