Twice-Cooked Pork — Back-in-the-Pot Pork
Quick Info
- Flavor
- Savory-spicy with sweet undertones. Doubanjiang gives a deep fermented chili flavor, balanced with sweet wheat paste and fresh garlic shoots.
- Texture
- Thin slices of pork belly, first boiled then stir-fried until the edges curl and crisp, slightly chewy with rendered fat
- Spice Level
- 🌶️🌶️ — Milder than Tabasco — more savory-rich than purely spicy
- Temperature
- Served Hot
Ingredients
Allergens
Confirmed
The Story
“回锅” literally means “return to the pot” — the pork is cooked twice. It’s considered by many Sichuan locals to be the single most representative dish of home-style Sichuan cooking. Every family has their version. It originated from the practice of boiling pork for ancestral offerings, then re-cooking the offering meat with spices for the family meal.
What to Expect
Thin, wide slices of pork belly that have been boiled, cooled, sliced, then thrown back into a screaming hot wok. The edges curl up into little “lampshade” shapes (called “灯盏窝”) — this is the sign of proper technique. The fat renders out during the second cooking, so it’s less greasy than you’d expect from pork belly.
Tips
This is the quintessential “rice killer” — the salty-savory sauce makes you eat bowl after bowl of rice. Always order rice with this dish.