·5/22/2026
from
Crispy Fried Pork
**Sichuan Crispy Fried Pork** *(小酥肉)*
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**Ingredients**
Pork tenderloin — cut into short strips, about two fingers wide
Egg — two, beaten into the batter
Potato starch — pale and fine, enough to thicken
Ground Sichuan peppercorn and dried chili — coarsely crushed, mixed in
A splash of soy sauce — for color, not salt
Cooking oil — enough to submerge
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**How it's made**
The batter goes together in a wide ceramic bowl. Egg first, then starch, then the ground peppercorn and chili. You beat it with chopsticks until it pulls into thick ribbons when you lift them — not too thin, not stiff. The spices sit in it, suspended.
The pork strips go in next. You press them in with your hands, turning each one until the batter clings to every surface. It coats thickly. Your fingers come out slick and pale yellow.
The wok is already hot. The oil shimmers at temperature. You lower each strip in one at a time with chopsticks. The moment it hits, the oil erupts in foam around it — a low, sharp sizzle that fills the kitchen. The batter sets almost immediately, puffing out from the meat inside.
When the pieces float to the surface, they're done. The crust is set. You lift them out with the bamboo strainer, tipping it over the wok so the oil runs back through the weave in thin threads, steam rising off the pile.
You put them on the board. Scatter a pinch of coarse salt over the top. A few more flakes of dried chili. One piece split open at the front — pale, fine-grained meat inside, a clean thin shell of crust around it.
That's the whole thing. The crunch is immediate. The pepper comes a second later. The meat is still tender in the middle because the oil was hot enough to seal the outside before it had time to cook the inside dry.
People make this for New Year. They also make it on a Tuesday because they wanted it.
---
**Ingredients**
Pork tenderloin — cut into short strips, about two fingers wide
Egg — two, beaten into the batter
Potato starch — pale and fine, enough to thicken
Ground Sichuan peppercorn and dried chili — coarsely crushed, mixed in
A splash of soy sauce — for color, not salt
Cooking oil — enough to submerge
---
**How it's made**
The batter goes together in a wide ceramic bowl. Egg first, then starch, then the ground peppercorn and chili. You beat it with chopsticks until it pulls into thick ribbons when you lift them — not too thin, not stiff. The spices sit in it, suspended.
The pork strips go in next. You press them in with your hands, turning each one until the batter clings to every surface. It coats thickly. Your fingers come out slick and pale yellow.
The wok is already hot. The oil shimmers at temperature. You lower each strip in one at a time with chopsticks. The moment it hits, the oil erupts in foam around it — a low, sharp sizzle that fills the kitchen. The batter sets almost immediately, puffing out from the meat inside.
When the pieces float to the surface, they're done. The crust is set. You lift them out with the bamboo strainer, tipping it over the wok so the oil runs back through the weave in thin threads, steam rising off the pile.
You put them on the board. Scatter a pinch of coarse salt over the top. A few more flakes of dried chili. One piece split open at the front — pale, fine-grained meat inside, a clean thin shell of crust around it.
That's the whole thing. The crunch is immediate. The pepper comes a second later. The meat is still tender in the middle because the oil was hot enough to seal the outside before it had time to cook the inside dry.
People make this for New Year. They also make it on a Tuesday because they wanted it.