Hibiscus Pork Cake
A well-known traditional sweet dish from Sichuan, made with shredded fatty pork coated in batter, deep-fried, and finished with a sugar coating. It is crispy, sweet, and delicious.
Ingredients
fatty pork belly
250 g
vegetable oil
750 g
brown sugar
150 g
red food coloring
a pinch
white sugar
100 g
dried bean starch
100 g
eggs (use egg white only)
2
rock sugar
a pinch
Instructions
1
Preparation
Cook the fatty pork belly until done, then cut into 5 cm long coarse strips. Blanch in boiling water, drain with a slotted spoon, place on a plate and let air dry, then mix the egg white, bean starch and pork strips evenly.
2
Frying
Scatter the pork strips by hand into oil heated to 70% of full heat, immediately remove with a slotted spoon, scatter again, then fry until crispy in oil heated to 80% of full heat, set aside for later use.
3
Molding
When the brown sugar boils and forms bubbles, add the rock sugar, then pour in the pork strips. Lift the wok and toss the mixture, then pour into a square ceramic dish, press flat with a spatula or knife to a thickness of about 2.3 cm. Sprinkle a layer of rouge sugar (white sugar mixed with food coloring) on top. Let cool completely, then cut into ginger sugar blocks (i.e. diagonal squares), and serve on a long platter.
