You might think pork belly is a cut that needs to be cooked for a really long time but – truth bomb – it really doesn’t. Prep it the right way and it’s actually perfect for a midweek meal, as is the case with this Sichuan chilli pork belly recipe. Tongue tingling. Sense awakening. All the helpings, plz.
2 tbsp vegetable oil
400g (14 oz) pork belly, cut into roughly 3cm (just over 1 inch) cubes
2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed in a mortar and pestle
10 dried red chillies
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4cm (1½ inch) piece ginger, peeled, julienned
2 green capsicums (bell peppers), deseeded, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 spring onions (scallions), cut into batons
1 tbsp chilli crisp (or to taste)
Stir-fry sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine
¼ tsp sugar
- To make the stir-fry sauce, combine the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Add the pork and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the pork is almost cooked through and golden at the edges.
- Add the crushed peppercorns to the pork, as well as the chillies, garlic and ginger. Give everything a toss to combine and stir-fry for another 2 minutes until lovely and fragrant.
- Next, add in the capsicum and stir-fry for another 2 minutes or until the capsicum is just tender (but still crunchy).
- Pour the stir-fry sauce around the edges of the wok, then toss all the ingredients together until combined. Add in the spring onion. Stir-fry for a minute until slightly softened and the pork is cooked through.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with chilli crisp or chilli oil. Serve immediately.
