One of my favorite dishes to order at restaurants is their Sichuan Three Pepper Chicken, which inspired me to create this pork belly stir-fry. But I’ve decided to substitute crispy pork belly for the chicken!
Inspiration For A Restaurant
This twist was inspired by a dish my family discovered at one of our favorite restaurants called “Three Pepper” fatty pork intestine. It doesn’t sound good, but it is incredibly delicious (and probably how unhealthy it is).
Even so, we still enjoy it every once in a while and place an order. If my wife gets a craving for refuse, she can’t be stopped because she has a dark secret: she loves it! However, as home cooks, we must admit that the thought of preparing and frying pork intestines is a bit much.
As a result, I had to improvise and use pork belly to achieve a similar flavor at home. When you consider that restaurants can charge up to $16 per order and $12 for a side of vegetables, it’s clear that it’s more cost-effective to prepare the meal at home.
Dish Up With Rice And A Side Veggies!
Servings of this dish are best accompanied by a side of white rice and some healthy stir-fried vegetables, such as bok choy or pea tips stir-fried with garlic. Those who aren’t used to the heat of Sichuan cuisine would benefit from having a tall glass of ice water on hand.
After trying many different “three pepper” dishes, I can confidently say that this one represents the absolute pinnacle of Sichuan cuisine. My love for Sichuan peppers and this Sichuan Three Pepper Pork Belly Stir-fry is plain to see.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil
- 12 oz. of pork belly (sliced 1/2-inch thick)
- 4 pcs. of long hot green peppers (cut into 1-inch pieces, deseeded if desired, will be less spicy without seeds)
- 1 tsp. of minced ginger (sliced to ⅛-inch thickness)
- 12 pcs. of dried red chili peppers
- 5 cloves of garlic (sliced)
- 1 tsp. of Sichuan peppercorns (either whole or crushed into a powder depending on your preferred spice-level)
- 2 tbsp. of chili oil (with chili flakes)
- ¾ tsp. of salt
- ¼ tsp. of sugar
- 1 tbsp. of Shaoxing wine
- 1 scallion (chopped)
Instructions:
- One tablespoon of vegetable oil should be heated until it begins to smoke, then added to the wok along with the pork belly. Reduce the heat to medium and stir-fry the pork until it is crisp and browned (about 6 minutes). Take the pork out of the frying pan.
- Using the oil left over from frying the pork belly, bring the wok back up to high heat and add the long hot green peppers. Sauté until blackened, but not wilted, and set aside with the pork belly.
- The wok should still have some oil in it at this point. Add the ginger and reduce the heat to medium. A slow stirring can enhance the aroma. Throw in some garlic, dried red peppers, and whole Sichuan peppercorns. Whole peppercorns are liked by some people and disliked by others, especially if you accidentally bite into one. I don’t mind them whole in this dish, but if you prefer to grind them first, you should hold off on adding them for now.
- For the next 30 seconds, stir the ingredients gently. To avoid a bitter aftertaste, toast the dried peppers and garlic without burning them.
- The pork belly and peppers should be added after you have turned the heat back up to high. The dish would benefit from adding the Sichuan peppercorn powder at this time.
- Stir-fry the ingredients with salt, sugar, and chili oil (be sure to get some flakes along with the oil). Finally, pour the Shaoxing wine around the rim of the wok.
- Stir-frying the pork for an additional minute after adding the scallions will help distribute the spices throughout the meat.