Pan-fried Pork Loin (Locally Known as Chu Rou)
A classic Shandong (Lu) dish featuring tender meat in a glossy red glaze, with a mellow, lightly numbing-spicy flavor.
Ingredients
Pork loin (locally called 'young meat', cut into 0.3 cm thick large slices, scored with a cross pattern, then cut into diamond-shaped pieces)
200 g
Yulan bamboo shoots (julienned)
50 g
Peas
30 g
Shredded scallion and ginger
15 g
Fine salt
4 g
Soy sauce
2 g
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
0.5 g
Shaoxing wine
15 g
Sugar
20 g
Egg white (for marinating)
to taste
Wet starch (for marinating and thickening)
to taste
Sichuan peppercorn oil
to taste
Peanut oil (for frying)
to taste
Clear broth (for braising)
to taste
Instructions
1
Prepare the meat
Cut the pork loin into 0.3 cm thick large slices, score a cross pattern to half the depth of the meat, then cut into diamond-shaped pieces. Marinate with egg white, fine salt, and wet starch until seasoned. Set aside.
2
Blanch-stir the meat
Place a wok over medium-high heat and add peanut oil. When the oil reaches about 60% hot (around 150 degrees C / 300 degrees F), add the meat slices and stir-fry briefly until just cooked, then pour into a colander to drain off the oil.
3
Finish the dish
Leave a small amount of oil in the wok and reheat over medium heat. Add the shredded scallion, ginger, and julienned yulan bamboo shoots and stir-fry briefly, then add the clear broth, sugar, soy sauce, fine salt, MSG, Shaoxing wine, and peas, and bring to a boil. Thicken with wet starch, return the meat slices to the wok, drizzle in the Sichuan peppercorn oil, toss to combine, then plate and serve.
