Crispy Ringing Pork
A renowned Fuzhou delicacy, pork tenderloin rolled around walnut kernels and deep-fried until crisp, featuring a sweet-and-sour flavor with a delightful crunch.
Story
A celebrated specialty of Fuzhou cuisine, Crispy Ringing Pork showcases the region's flair for combining contrasting textures in a single bite. Thin slices of pork tenderloin are wrapped around walnut kernels and deep-fried to a golden crisp, creating a dish that lives up to its poetic name—each mouthful produces a distinctive crunch reminiscent of a jingling bell. The sweet-and-sour glaze enhances the nutty richness of the walnuts while complementing the savory pork, resulting in a harmonious balance that has made this dish a beloved classic in Fujian culinary tradition.
Ingredients
Pork tenderloin (cut into 5 cm squares, 0.33 cm thick, 24 pieces total)
300 g
White sugar
20 g
Walnut kernels (soaked in warm water then skin removed)
75 g
Aromatic vinegar
15 g
Egg whites (beaten and mixed with 50 g dry starch to make egg-starch batter)
3 pieces
Lard (approximately 100 g consumed)
500 g
Scallion segments
3 g
Wet starch
10 g
soy sauce
15g
dry starch (50g used for egg-flour batter, 2.5g used for evenly coating walnut kernels)
52.5g
superior stock
50g
Instructions
1
Preparation
Cut pork tenderloin into 24 pieces, each 5 cm square and 0.33 cm thick. Place egg whites in a bowl, beat them until loose, then add 50 g dried starch and stir to form an egg-starch paste. Combine superior stock, scallion segments, 15 g white sugar, soy sauce, fragrant vinegar, and wet starch to make a sauce mixture.
2
Prepare the Walnut Kernels
Soak walnut kernels in warm water, then peel off the skin. Briefly blanch them in a pot of boiling water, then remove. Add 5 g sugar and 2.5 g dried starch and mix well by hand. Place a wok over medium heat, add cooked pork fat, and heat to 70% hot. Add the walnut kernels and deep-fry until light yellow, then pour into a colander to drain off the oil. Leave a thin layer of oil in the wok, melt the sugar syrup, add the fried walnut kernels, and stir with an iron spatula so the walnuts are evenly coated with the sugar syrup. Remove from the wok, plate, and let cool, then cut into 24 pieces.
3
Roll Up
Place 1 piece of walnut kernel on each pork tenderloin slice, roll up into a tight cylinder, then dip in the egg-starch paste to coat evenly and set aside.
4
Fry
Place a wok over high heat, add cooked pork fat, and heat to 80% hot. Add the egg-starch-coated meat rolls and deep-fry until light yellow, then quickly drain off the oil. Return the wok to the heat, pour in the sauce mixture to thicken, toss the rolls a few times, then plate and serve.
