My Chinese Recipe Menu
- How I Feel About This Sichuan Crisp Pork
- Story Behind Sichuan Crisp Pork
- Original Name
- Cooking Tips
- Cooking Time
- Ingredients to Make Sichuan Crisp Pork
- Food
- Seasonings
- How to Make Sichuan Crisp Pork
- Preparation
- Cooking
How I Feel About This Sichuan Crisp Pork
This is one of the iconic Sichuan snack. You would find it in any Sichuan Cuisine restaurants. The first time I have this Sichuan Crisp Pork (Xiao Su Rou) is in a hot pot restaurant. After ordering, we sat there waiting. Sichuan Crisp Pork is the first to come and it's just so tasty dipping with chili powder.
There are two kinds of crisp texture for this Sichuan crisp pork, hard crisp and soft crisp. Hard crisp is firm, crunchy, and brittle. When you bite into it, you can hear a loud crack or crunch, and the item breaks easily. While soft crisp is still crisp on the outside but with a slightly softer or more delicate bite. It may have some give or tenderness when you bite into it, and it might not make as loud of a crunching sound.
You may use this recipe to make hard or soft crisp pork depending one your choice.
Story Behind Sichuan Crisp Pork
More than 3,000 years ago, at the end of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou and his consort, Su Daji, went hunting but returned empty-handed. Frustrated, they vented their anger on a farmer’s wife. After eating and drinking their fill, they left. Furious, the woman began chopping meat while muttering, “Su Daji, I’ll chop you into pieces and deep fry you in oil.” She deep-fried the meat, and to her surprise, it smelled fragrant and tasted incredibly delicious.
When her husband returned from the fields and tasted the fried meat, he asked what kind of meat it was. Annoyed, the wife replied, “It’s Su Daji’s meat.” Her husband quickly covered her mouth and warned, “Are you trying to get us killed? Don’t say that fox spirit’s name out loud! Let’s call it ‘Su Meat’ to remember our grudge.”
Over time, “Su Meat” came into being. As the years passed, people replaced the character “Su” (referring to Su Daji) with the current character for “crispy” (Su), giving birth to the dish known as “crispy pork” . Loved by the common folk for satisfying both their taste buds and their emotions, it quickly became popular throughout China.
Original Name
- Translated English Name: Sichuan Crisp Pork
- Original Chinese Pronunciation: Sichuan Xiao Su Rou 四川小酥肉
Note: You may use the Chinese name to order in China because the translated English name of the dishes might be different in every restaurant.
Cooking Tips
- There’s no need to add water when coating the batter—just use egg wash and flour. Under the heat, the starch in the batter reacts with the amino acids in the egg through the Maillard reaction, producing a complex aroma and releasing an incredible charred, crispy flavor. This contrasts beautifully with the tender pork leg inside, creating a multi-layered and intricate taste experience.
- I include the steps for making fresh ground Sichuan pepper because that's the key part of the recipe. You may also use ground Sichuan pepper instead.
- Eat before it's getting cold. It tastes better when it's hot.
Cooking Time
Prep Time: 60 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 90 mins
Ingredients
Serving: 5
Food
Pork Tenderloin — 500g/17.6oz
Ginger — 2 pieces
Egg — 4 piece
Sweet Potato Starch — 200g/7oz
Seasonings
Salt — 2 + 2 tsp
Ground Sichuan Pepper — 2 + 4 tsp
Chili Powder — 2 tbsp
Optional for Hard Crisp
Baking Soda — 1 tsp
How to Cook Sichuan Crisp Pork
Preparation
1. Prepare freshly ground Sichuan pepper: Without adding oil, roast dried Sichuan pepper in a pan until it turns brown and releases a strong aroma. Then, crush it using a blender or rolling pin. It doesn’t need to be too fine.
2. Slice pork tenderloin into strips about 3 mm thick. Tenderloin has the best texture—it’s not tough, has a good chew, and isn’t greasy.
3. Place the meat strips into a large bowl, add minced ginger, 2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp freshly ground Sichuan pepper, mix well, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate for about 30 minutes. If it’s hot, you may refrigerate the meat.
3. Crack 4 eggs into sweet potato starch and roughly stir it. The prepared batter should be thick, able to drip smoothly, and leave streaks that don’t immediately disappear. This is the ideal consistency for coating the meat, ensuring an even covering that won’t fall apart in the oil. Add 2 tsp salt and 4 tsp ground Sichuan pepper to the batter and mix well.
4. Put the marinated meat into the starch batter, roughly mix until all the meat strips are evenly coated.
Cooking
1. Heat oil in a pot to about 60% hot (around 160°C/320℉). Test the temperature by dipping a wooden chopstick into the oil. If small bubbles form around it, the oil is ready for frying.
2. Fry the pork strips over medium-low heat. Be sure to add the strips one by one; don’t dump them in all at once. Fry for about 10 minutes, depending on the size and amount of meat, until both sides turn golden.
3. Heat the oil to 90% hot (around 190°C/374℉) and fry the crisp pork again until the color change to golden brown. 1 minute would be ideal.
4. It’s ready! Serve with a sprinkle of chili powder, and you can now enjoy authentic Sichuan crispy pork. You may also freeze some of the pork and add them to hot pot or soups later. It's a delicious option.
