The small crunchy pig, or XIǎo sū ròu (小酥肉), is a dish in Sicchuan of small stripes of boned pork battered and fried, seasoned with pepper pepper toasted Sichuan. Even if you may not see it outside China, it is a delicious meal that you can now enjoy with this recipe!
These small morsels are very tasty alone, but you also see them served in soups and hot pots. Imagine these small fried pork pieces that absorb the flavor of a spicy broth in the pot!
A recipe you can riff on
Even in Sichuan restaurants here in the United States, we often don’t see this dish. We have seen a lot of fried pork chops, fried chicken and fried fish dishes, but not these small crispy pork pieces served simply, without sauce.
I took a point to try it during our last trip to Shanghai, but later I discovered that, just like the braised pig, each region has its own distinctive approach.
The spices used in different variants include ginger, shaxing wine, ground pepper, soy sauce, salt, five powder spices or 13 in spice powder. The variations of the batter involve regular flour, rice flour, corn starch, starch of sweet potatoes and whole eggs. Just to be clear, there is no water in the batter.
So you can be creative enough with this dish! Like the bill fried pork ribs that include curd of fermented beans as part of the dressing, why not experiment as long as it is tasty?
This recipe is heavy on Sichuan pepper pepper, which makes it distinctly from the Sichuan region.
Serve alone or in a hot pot
Can you believe that this small crispy pig served with the hot sauce of Sichuan? The logic of first frying the pig with the batter, then putting it in hot soup is fascinating for me, but the fried coating in reality allows the pork pieces to absorb all those rich and complex flavors with a hot vase broth.
We like to eat it as it is: it is tender, crunchy and full of flavor. Trust me, they don’t last for a long time on the table once you have published them!
Having said that, if you want to try to eat it with a hot pot, take a look at our recipe to prepare a meal in the hot pot from Sichuan at home!
Instructions for the Xiaosurou recipe:
Toast the entire Sichuan pepper grains in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes, until it is fragrant. (If your Sichuan pepper grains are very fresh and strongly fragrant, they are reduced to 1 tablespoon.) Then grinding in a grinder of spices or mortar and pestle.
A note on Sichuan pepperSort
Sichuan pepper grains vary in terms of quality and paralyzing strength. With the quantity on this dish, you should not experience a strong paralyzing effect, only the fragrance and the flavor.
In recent years, it has become much easier to find fresh high quality. (The Mala market offers the prize Sichuan pepper grains In their online store.) You should just see the external peel of the pepper in wheat, without the bitter black seed. Fresh from pepper in grains, the more powerful it is their paralyzing effect. If you are using very fresh or high quality pepper grains (they will be bright and very fragrant red), reduce the quantity to 1 tablespoon. We ask here for Sichuan red chillies. Do not use Green Sichuan pepper grains, which are even more pungent.
In an medium bowl, add the pork strips with ginger, shaoxing wine, half of the ground pepper pepper pepper, light soy sauce and teaspoon salt. He launches everything together until the pork is uniformly covered and has absorbed all the liquid. Marinate for 20-30 minutes while preparing the batter and oil.
In a large bowl, add the sweet potato starch, the eggs, the baking soda of sodium, the remaining ½ teaspoon teaspoon rooms and the remaining ground slaughterhouse Sichuan pepper pepper. Mix until there are lumps.
At the beginning the batter will feel thick, but it continues to mix until the potato starch is absorbed in the batter.
Fill a small and deep pot with about 2 inches of oil. Heat it over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 ° f/190 ° C (use an instant reading thermometer). The oil will immediately cool when adding the pig. Keep the oil temperature at about 350 ° F-375 ° F during the frying process.
While the preheated oil, add the pork to the batter. Mix well until pork pieces are uniformly coated.
Lower the pork pieces one at a time in the oil. Keep some space between each piece to avoid attacking. Fry in lots (don’t overcome the pot). Turn the pieces until they float on the surface and the coating hardens and transforms a light golden brown color, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a lined plate of paper towel. Repeat with the remaining pig.
After the first madman, fry the pig for the second time (the second madman really makes them crunchy). Do it in lots for 3 minutes (longer for a more crunchy consistency), until the pig is very crunchy and an intense golden color.
Serve immediately, garnished with a small chopped shallot if you wish!
Little Crispy Pork (Xiaoosurou – Little Crispy Pork)
The small crunchy pig, or XIǎo sū ròu (小酥肉), is a dish in Sicchuan of small stripes of boned pork battered and fried, seasoned with pepper pepper toasted Sichuan. Even if you may not see it outside China, it is a delicious meal that you can now enjoy with this recipe!
Serves: 4
Prep: 40 minutes
Cooked: 35 minutes
Total: 1 Now 15 minutes
Instructions
Toast the entire Sichuan pepper grains in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes, until it is fragrant. (If your Sichuan pepper grains are very fresh and strongly fragrant, they are reduced to 1 tablespoon), grinders in a grinder of spices or mortar and pestle.
In an medium bowl, add the pork strips with ginger, shaoxing wine, half of the ground pepper pepper pepper, light soy sauce and teaspoon salt. He launches everything together until the pork is uniformly covered and has absorbed all the liquid. Marinate for 20-30 minutes while preparing the batter and oil.
In a large bowl, add the sweet potato starch, the eggs, the baking soda of sodium, the remaining ½ teaspoon teaspoon rooms and the remaining ground slaughterhouse Sichuan pepper pepper. Mix until there are lumps. At the beginning the batter will feel thick, but it continues to mix until the potato starch is absorbed in the batter.
Fill a small and deep pot with about 2 inches of oil. Heat it over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 ° f/190 ° C (use an instant reading thermometer). The oil will immediately cool when adding the pig. Keep the oil temperature at about 350 ° F-375 ° F during the frying process.
While the preheated oil, add the pork to the batter and mix well until the pork pieces are uniformly covered.
Lower the pork pieces one at a time in the oil, keep some space between each piece to avoid sticking. Fry in lots (don’t overcome the pot). Turn the pieces until they float on the surface and the coating hardens and transforms a light golden brown color, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a lined plate of paper towel. Repeat with the remaining pig.
After the first madman, fry the pig for the second time (the second madman really makes them crunchy). Do it in lots for 3 minutes (longer for a more crunchy consistency), until the pig is very crunchy and an intense golden color. Serve immediately, garnished with a small chopped shallot if you wish!
Nutritional facts
Calories: 317Kcal (16%) Carbohydrates: 19G (6%) Protein: 15G (30%) Fat: 20G (31%) Saturated fat: 3G (15%) Polynsaturo fat: 5G Monolysatuine fat: 11G Trans fat: 0.1G Cholesterol: 117mg (39%) Sodium: 441mg (18%) Potassium: 440mg (13%) Fiber: 1G (4%) Sugar: 1G (1%) Vitamin A: 122Iu (2%) Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) Soccer: 35mg (4%) Iron: 1mg (6%)
