Though while relatively rare in the states, this is a staple in Sichuan kitchens as a cold appetizer (and is actually better if made a few days before service). The best I have ever had was from a Sichuan restaurant where I grew up, and I really wish I'd blown off a semester of engineering school to take them up on their offer to let me bow to the master in their kitchen. Here I use an immersion circulator to ensure perfect cooking, but if you're careful you can poach the pork for a long time to achieve that tenderness while being simultaneously juicy. I use slices of pork loin for this, but the traditional route involves either pork belly or pork leg; this gives tastier end results, though fattier, and taking far longer. The temperature for the water bath for either of these remains the same at just over 140 F, but the pork loin only takes about 3-4 hours, and the belly or leg may take about 20 (start it before breakfast, and the sauce the day ahead, and you'll have dinner as soon as you can slice it). The sauce recipe makes enough for 2 lbs of pork loin, but will keep for months in the fridge.
To start:
0.5 Kg (a little over a pound) of pork loin, well trimmed, with the biggest pieces of fat retained (this usually uses a fattier cut of meat, and feel free to experiment with things like belly, though it doesn't necessarily agree with western palates).
2 cloves of garlic, crushed with the side of a knife
the white and pale green parts of 3 green onions chopped in to 2 cm pieces and crushed with the back of the knife.
1-1.5 inches of ginger, thinly sliced, and crushed with the back of the knife
1/2 t whole Sichuan peppercorns
1 T of fresh minced chiles (or to taste; I tend to use ultra-hot Thai chiles because I usually have them on hand, but they are HOT.)
The sauce:
7-8
garlic cloves
, smashed
2 t grated ginger
The green parts of the earlier green onions, cut in to very thin rounds
1 T toasted sesame seeds
1.5 T dark soy sauce
0.5 T kecap manis (not traditional, but it makes up for not using sweet seasoned soy sauce without muddying the flavor with things like star anise, and without making a bunch of sauce you'll rarely use)
1 T standard soy sauce (I use the most basic of the Yamasa soy sauces [water, soy beans, wheat, salt], even though it's Japanese)
At least 2 T of Chinese Red Chile Oil (Recipe to be followed here: Sichuan Chile Oil), preferably 3T
1 t Chinese Black Vinegar
1 T sesame oil
roughly 3/4 t liquid lecithin (found in most health food stores, and it is useful for emulsifying just about everything, from mac and cheese to salad dressing, and it keeps this sauce from breaking and gives it a thickness to cling to the rest of the dish)
To start with, smash and mince the garlic, combine with the ginger, all of the soy sauces, the sesame seeds, and the vinegar.
Combine all the sauce ingredients except the oils and the lecithin, and in a separate bowl whisk together the oils and the liquid lecithin. This may well provide more than enough sauce for the meal.
Whisk the two together and coat the pork with it; you shouldn't need any extra salt, but taste and try it.
Serve with a little white rice or pickled veggies, but it's mostly intended to be eaten as is with chopsticks one sliver at a time.
I sous vide the pork for about 4 hours at 141-142F. Upon removing the slices from the sous vide, scrape off the extra fat and embedded spices, and, after resting, slice the pork in to thin slices. It should be tender and juicy, but completely cooked (with no chance of overcooking). Dress the pork with the dressing and let sit for half an hour before serving; this lets everything to come to room temperature and blend.
