Crispy Scored Fried Pork
Traditional Shandong (Lu) dish. Pork belly is scored in a crosshatch pattern, then fried until the exterior is crispy and golden while the interior remains tender and juicy, with a rich, savory pork flavor.
Ingredients
Pork belly (scrubbed clean, boiled to 70% done)
750 g
Shredded scallions
25 g
Shredded ginger
20 g
Sliced garlic
15 g
Garlic chive segments
25 g
Vegetable oil (about 100 g actually used)
900 g
Soy sauce
15 g
Rice vinegar
15 g
Cooking wine
10 g
Sesame oil
10 g
Salt
6 g
Wet starch (for coating the pork rolls)
50 g
Dry starch (for dusting)
25 g
Instructions
1
Prepare the Meat
First, scrape and wash the pork belly clean, then boil it until about 70% done. Remove it, place it skin-side up on the cutting board, and make a deep cut every 0.6 cm (cutting to about half the thickness of the meat). Then slice off a large piece every 0.6 cm. Lay each slice flat on the board and, starting from the skin side, make another deep cut every 0.6 cm (same depth), then slice off again every 0.6 cm to create cross-hatch scored pork rolls. Evenly coat the scored pork rolls with wet starch.
2
Fry and Sauce
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until it reaches about 70% hot. Coat the starched pork rolls with dry starch, open up the cross-hatch pattern, and deep-fry until golden brown. Pour out through a strainer to drain off the oil. Leave a thin layer of oil in the wok, return the pork rolls, and pour in a sauce made by combining shredded scallions, shredded ginger, sliced garlic, and garlic chive segments with chicken broth, salt, cooking wine, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Toss quickly a few times and serve immediately.
