Homestyle Sichuan Salt-Fried Pork

(Because this dish can generally be described as 'chili oil stir-fried with chili,' my eyes were stung and I didn't have time to take a picture. I'll add the picture next time! Please understand!) Remove the seeds from the green peppers and cut them into chunks, and cut the meat into small slices. Refer to the picture for thickness.

Prepare red chili oil and Pixian broad bean paste. For those who haven't cooked Sichuan cuisine before, pay attention! There’s a difference between red chili oil and regular chili oil, and Pixian broad bean paste is different from regular broad bean paste as well! Pixian broad bean paste can be found in supermarkets. Red chili oil is the essence of Sichuan cuisine, so don’t assume that regular oil mixed with chili powder can compare. If you want something simpler, just make green pepper stir-fried pork slices—you don’t need to learn this. Here are the specific steps for making red chili oil: Heat oil, sauté a small amount of star anise and cinnamon, a few Sichuan peppercorns, and two slices of ginger (if you really don’t have these, you can use a bit of Chinese five-spice to substitute…). When the oil is 70–80% hot, pour it into a container, remove the spices, and sprinkle chili powder. When the oil cools to 50% and then 30% hot, add chili powder two more times. OK. Don’t be afraid of spiciness—it just looks very red, but the taste is actually very fragrant.

Add red oil, fry the green peppers until they have a blistered appearance. Dishes prepared this way taste delicious! Set aside after cooking.

Add red chili oil and Doubanjiang. (Sichuan cuisine uses a lot of oil, so we shouldn't add too little either. Red oil is different from regular oil; it doesn't feel greasy when eating.) Stir evenly, and when it's about 70% cooked, add the meat.

Stir-fry the meat until it's a bit more cooked and drier. Drier than the one in the main picture. Add salt and fry. Toss in the green peppers a few times, then remove from the pan.