Chinese · Authentic-ish Chinese
Twice Cooked Pork
314 kcal a serving, against 560 for the traditional version. That is 246 kcal off, or 44%, with 35.5g of protein. Serves 4. 35 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Thick blocks of pork belly boiled in seasoned water, cooled, and sliced into wide rectangles. These fatty slices are thrown into a wok with plenty of oil until the fat renders and turns crispy. The meat is tossed with sweet leeks, sugar, and a massive hit of salty, fermented chilli bean paste.
What changed, and what each change costs
600g of fatty pork belly for 600g of lean pork loin
Pork belly is more than half fat by weight. Using pure lean loin slashes the fat aggressively and leaves you with a huge amount of solid protein.
What it costs you. You completely lose the melting texture. Call it a firm, chewy piece of meat rather than a soft, rich bite of belly and you'll be about right. You must slice it thin or it becomes tough.
45g of cooking oil down to 15g
The original relies on a deep pool of rendered lard and oil to fry the leeks and carry the chilli flavour. I use just enough oil to stop the wok smoking.
What it costs you. The spicy sauce clings tightly to the ingredients rather than pooling on the plate in a slick of red oil.
15g of caster sugar down to absolutely nothing
Hoisin sauce brings enough sweetness to balance the harsh heat of the chilli flakes. You don't need straight refined sugar sprinkled on top.
What it costs you. The edges of the pork won't caramelise quite as fiercely in the hot pan without that pure sugar hitting the metal.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 560 | 314 |
| Protein | 28.3g | 35.5g |
| Fat | 39g | 10.1g |
| Saturated fat | 10.9g | 2.3g |
| Carbohydrate | 21.2g | 17.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 5.1g | 11.3g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Chinese prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, sesame, soybeans, sulphites.
The method is in the book
This is the first compromise that truly hurts. Twice cooked pork was invented specifically to showcase fatty belly, and stripping that away leaves you with a completely different dish. You miss the soft, rendering fat terribly. The aggressive, salty flavour profile survives completely intact. You trade the luxurious texture for a plate of food that you can actually eat on a Tuesday night without feeling utterly ruined the next morning. The sharp heat and sweet leeks still deliver exactly what you want.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Chinese, along with 55 more. Buy the paperback