Why is Hunan’s fried pork with chili so delicious? How can you make it at home?

Chili fried pork is a simple yet complex Changsha delicacy. Basically, as long as you are from Changsha, there is no one who doesn’t know about fried pork with chili.

Why is it said to be both simple and complex? Simplicity means simple ingredients, only chili and meat. The complexity is that if you use different peppers, different meat, and different heat, the taste will be very different.

The best way to test whether a Hunan restaurant’s cooking is authentic is to order its chili fried pork. If the chili fried pork tastes good, then the taste of other dishes will not be too bad. This is similar to ordering pot-wrapped pork in a Northeastern restaurant to experience the taste of the restaurant.

In the early years, when Hunan cuisine chefs finished their apprenticeships and started their apprenticeships, they were usually asked to fry this chili-fried pork dish to test their skills. If they passed the test, they could become apprentices. It can be seen that fried pork with chili really tests the chef's skills.

Chili pepper was introduced to the country during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. It was first used as an ornamental plant. Later it was planted on a large scale and flowers bloomed on the land of Hunan and Hunan. This is of course also related to the climate in Hunan. The summer is hot and the winter is so cold that the bones are damp and cold. It is exactly the time to use chili peppers to drive away the cold and dehumidify. Therefore, it is logical that chili peppers are loved by Hunan people.

When it comes to pork, Hunan people have always had a tradition of raising pigs. It can be said that pork is the main source of meat. Therefore, the two most common ingredients, chili and pork, meet. The recipe is simple, but requires extremely high heat and texture, and it is so delicious. How could it not spread?

First of all, let’s talk about chili peppers. The traditional chili stir-fried pork uses green chili peppers, and the skin must be thin and the meat thick. Only in this way can the chili peppers be juicy enough to get the flavor of the chili peppers, and they will not Too spicy.

Adhering to this characteristic, screw peppers are now generally used, which look wrinkled, so they are also called wrinkled peppers. is able to meet the requirements listed above.

When it comes to pork, choose fat and lean pork belly or hind shank. What matters is whether it is fat or thin. In Changsha, Ningxiang Pig is usually chosen, which is also commonly known as "Two-Headed Crow".

Ningxiang spotted pigs have spots on their bodies and are "short, fat and round" in appearance. They are "fat" pigs. Using Ningxiang flower pork as fried meat is not only fragrant, but also has a sweetness. This is because its meat is rich in muscle glycogen and is tender and green. Let’s talk about how to make stir-fried pork with chili pepper

Ingredients: green pepper, pork 1:1, dark soy sauce (the most authentic way in Hunan is to use Long brand soy sauce, but overseas you can use dark soy sauce) light soy sauce, cooking wine , salt, garlic

Method: The first thing is to choose peppers. Hunan all use screw peppers to stir-fry this dish. The screw peppers are tender, thin-skinned, and spicy. You can pinch the peppers with your hands when you buy them. , the ones that are crispier when pinched are relatively tender peppers. Choose thin-skinned peppers.

If you can’t buy screw peppers. You can also choose green pepper. It’s just that green peppers have thicker skin and flesh. Don't use vegetable peppers to stir-fry it. It's not fragrant and don't use wattle sticks. The skin is thick and the juice is low and the taste is bad.

1. For pork, it is best to choose front leg meat, but hind leg meat is also acceptable, with a little fat. Cut the pork into fat and lean meat and separate them. Leave the fat aside and add a little dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and cooking wine to the lean meat and marinate it a little.

2. Process the peppers. Remove the stems of the peppers and remove the pepper seeds inside. When cooking with pepper seeds, they will easily turn black and affect the taste. The peppers must be cut into hob pieces and the garlic sliced.

3. The most critical step is to stir-fry the meat with peppers. First stir-fry the peppers in a dry pan. This is the step that determines the taste. Heat a pan without oil, add chili peppers and stir-fry over medium heat. Let the water in the peppers evaporate and the skin wrinkles, forming a tiger skin. Stir-fry for a while, add some salt so that the chili pepper can take in the flavor, and then scoop out the chili pepper.

4. Put oil in the pot, a little oil, put the fat into the pot and stir-fry out the oil. After it becomes dry, put the lean meat into the pot and stir-fry over high heat. When the lean meat changes color, add garlic slices and sauté until fragrant. Then add the chili pepper and stir-fry together. Use a spatula to pound it in the pot. Hold the spatula upright and pound the peppers and meat.

5. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, pour in the soy sauce, stir-fry for about 15 seconds, and then turn off the heat. Don't fry for too long, otherwise the peppers will become unpalatable if they are fried to death. The texture of this chili stir-fried pork is crispy and tender.

What many people love about chili fried pork is the oil at the bottom of the plate. I'm used to eating it with rice mixed with oil sauce, and it's really delicious.

Technical summary

1. It is best to use screw peppers for peppers. The seeds need to be removed and cut into hob pieces.

2. If you don’t need to add oil, put the chili in a pot and stir-fry it first to form tiger skin. Stir out the flavor of the chili peppers and remove the moisture from the chili peppers.

3. Do not add water during cooking. Adding water will easily cause the peppers to turn yellow. The characteristic of chili fried pork is that the chili has tiger skin, the surface is bright green and shiny, very crispy and delicious.

4. Add salt when stir-frying chili peppers and dark soy sauce when marinating pork, so don’t add salt when cooking. Just add some light soy sauce to enhance the flavor and aroma.

5. Just use light soy sauce. Do not add additional MSG or chicken essence. Conclusion

Stir-fried pork with chili pepper can be said to be a dish that is deeply rooted in the bones of Hunan people, and it is also a home-cooked dish. The method is simple, the ingredients are simple, but the taste is very extraordinary. It is a well-deserved artifact for serving meals. It is also a dish that tests the chef’s knife skills, heat and ingredient selection. This is a very common home-cooked dish, but it has thousands of flavors. The method I will share today. It is definitely the one that makes you most comfortable to eat and the most addictive. If you think what I said is reliable, just give it a like and leave.