Sticky Szechuan Pork
15m prep 1h cook 1h ready
Pork belly is slowly cooked with Szechuan spices until tender, then coated in a rich sticky sauce. This Chinese dish is full of aromatic flavors from star anise and dried chilies.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 dried red chillies roughly chopped
- 6 star anise
- 500 g boneless pork belly cut into 2.5cm/1in-wide pieces
- 2.5 root ginger roughly sliced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
Estimated based off 7 of 10 identified ingredients (per 100 g food data, scaled by amount).
Vitamins & minerals
- Calcium: 73.9 mg
- Iron: 2.18 mg
- Magnesium: 56.1 mg
- Phosphorus: 336 mg
- Potassium: 532 mg
- Zinc: 3.96 mg
Let's Cook
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Step 1.
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add the dried red chillies and star anise, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
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Step 2.
Add the pork belly pieces, sliced ginger, and sea salt. Continue stir-frying for 2–3 minutes until the pork starts to brown slightly.
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Step 3.
Pour in 500ml (2 cups) hot water, enough to just cover the pork. Stir well, bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes until the pork is tender and cooked through.
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Step 4.
Remove the pork from the wok with a slotted spoon and set aside. Skim off any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid using a spoon.
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Step 5.
In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon water. Add this mixture to the wok with the cooking liquid.
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Step 6.
Turn the heat to high and cook, stirring continuously, for about 5 minutes until the sauce has reduced by half.
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Step 7.
Return the pork to the wok, add the sesame seeds, and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the sauce is thick and sticky and the pork is well coated. Sprinkle with additional sesame seeds and serve immediately.
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