(Exploring China) The first dish of Sichuan cuisine, twice-cooked pork: from the rivers and lakes, to the world

　　China News Agency, Chengdu, May 10th: Twice-cooked pork, the first dish of Sichuan cuisine: from the rivers and lakes, to the world

　　China News Agency reporter He Shaoqing

　　Whether it’s a fly restaurant deep in the alley, or a star-rated restaurant in the Michelin guide, if you want to test the authenticity of a Sichuan restaurant on the streets of Chengdu, there is nothing more than ordering a double-cooked pork that Sichuan people will make.

In Chengdu, Sichuan, in a Sichuan restaurant with the signboard of "Three-Generations Loved Twice-cooked Pork", chef Wang Qiangqiang displayed his freshly-made Sichuan-cooked pork.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Lang

　　Chengdu, the first "World Food Capital" in Asia awarded by the United Nations, is actually the mutual achievement of "Haohaozui" and craftsmen.

Diners will not be stingy with the journey of an hour or two. It will take a lifetime to find a crispy pot helmet with red oil ear pieces, or a plate of mother rabbit head just pulled out of a spicy braised pot. A chef who has worked hard and "realistic" a dish.

　　In a Sichuan restaurant with the signboard of "Twice-cooked meat loved by three generations", chef Wang Qiangqiang is demonstrating the practice of double-cooked meat to his apprentices.

In Chengdu, Sichuan, a chef displays the ingredients for stir-fried pork in a Sichuan restaurant with the signboard of "Three-Generations Loved Twice-cooked Pork".

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Lang

　　See the square-shaped two-knife leg meat with ginger, spring onion, cooking wine, and peppercorns and slowly cook until it is seven-percent cooked, then cut into thin slices thick with copper coins and stir-fry in the pan. Sweet red soy sauce and Pixian watercress give the soul, and the rising fireworks In the middle, the meat slices are curled into a "lamp's nest" at high temperature, and then sprinkled with a handful of crispy and tender garlic sprouts to add a refreshing touch to this oily dish...

　　"The first dish I learned was double-cooked pork. The first time I was beaten was because the double-cooked pork was too slow to cook..." Wang Qiangqiang, who has been fighting with double-cooked pork for 30 years, still collects the double-cooked pork recipe handwritten by the old principal.

In his opinion, double-cooked meat is easy to learn but difficult to master. In addition to strictly controlling the temperature of cooking the meat, the process of making the cooked meat needs to be controlled within two minutes, and the two-knife meat is forced out with fierce fire (referring to cut off the pig's tail. The leg part, because it is the second knife, commonly known as the second knife, is soft and glutinous, burnt and fragrant, and the mouth is slag.

In Chengdu, Sichuan, in a Sichuan restaurant with the signboard of "Twice-cooked pork that three generations love to eat", Sichuan cuisine master Wang Kaifa (right) is preparing the second-knife pork for fried double-cooked pork.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Lang

　　"Fragrant, fat but not greasy," British food writer Fuxia Dunlop commented on twice-cooked pork in the book "Sichuan Cuisine". She also praised the Chinese for being "proficient in the art of cooking fatty meat."

　　This "proficiency" is not only reflected in the production, but also in the selection of materials.

In Wang Qiang's opinion, the reason why twice-cooked pork is used instead of pork belly is that the latter is more suitable for making steamed pork and braised pork that are "beautiful when the heat is full", while the former is more suitable for the "fast attack".

　　With the changes of the times, the combination of ingredients for twice-cooked pork has long been not limited to garlic sprouts, and scallops, rice noodles, potatoes, peas, okra, dried tofu, etc.

A small shop specializing in twice-cooked pork in the southern suburbs of Chengdu is very popular among diners because the chef has fried 108 courses of twice-cooked pork with different flavors.

In Chengdu, Sichuan, chef Wang Qiangqiang (middle) is demonstrating the skill of stir-frying twice-cooked pork in a Sichuan restaurant with the signboard of "Three-Generations Love to Eat Twice-cooked Pork."

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Lang

　　"If you strictly follow the original recipe, it will no longer be edible." Wang Kaifa, a Chinese culinary master, said that Sichuan cuisine has undergone tremendous changes from raw materials to kitchen utensils in the past few decades, and generations of chefs have continued to explore improvements. The twice-cooked meat of the pot is served in utensils with fire to avoid losing the best flavor due to the temperature drop.

All kinds of upright innovations stem from the "diet code" that has been branded in the hearts of the Chinese people for thousands of years - not tired of eating fines, and never tired of finesse.

　　Of course, the reason why twice-cooked pork can become the first dish of Sichuan cuisine is not only delicious, but also because of the "spontaneous" happiness on the tip of the tongue that carries the collective memories of Sichuan people.

In Chengdu, Sichuan, chef Wang Qiangqiang (middle) displays his freshly cooked Sichuan-style double-cooked pork in a Sichuan restaurant with the signboard of "Three-Generations Loved Twice-cooked Pork".

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Lang

　　In order to welcome astronaut Ye Guangfu to the end of his 183-day space journey, Ye Yadan, Ye Guangfu's sister, specially cooked twice-cooked pork in his hometown of Chengdu.

"Twice-cooked pork is also known as 'Guomenxiang'. When I was a child, whoever fried the double-cooked pork could smell it in the whole building. Occasionally biting a piece of tempeh, the taste buds couldn't help but spit out a big mouthful of rice when stimulated by the aroma of the sauce." Ye Yadan recalled, When I was a child, I only cooked double-cooked pork at home during New Year's and festivals. After the meat dishes are eaten, the soup is left to mix with noodles and rice, which is another delicious dish.

　　Born in the market, the twice-cooked pork can also enter the house and spread to the world.

　　Yang Xiaocheng, Vice President of the Second Council of the Chinese Cuisine Association, traveled to the United States in the 1980s to take charge of the legendary Chinese restaurant New York Rongyuan.

In the view of this second-generation inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage "Chengdu Double-cooked Meat Cooking Skills", human taste is essentially a habit, and everyone has their own double-cooked meat.

　　Nowadays, where there are Chinese, there is Sichuan cuisine, and where there is Sichuan cuisine, there must be twice-cooked pork.

The change of twice-cooked pork is the epitome of Sichuan cuisine - from the rivers and lakes, to the world.

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