小酥肉

小酥肉

小酥肉 is a home-style meat dish at difficulty 3/5 (Intermediate), about 1939 kcal. Small Crispy Meat is crispy outside and tender inside, savory with a faint numbi. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.

Difficulty

3 / 5

★★★☆☆

Intermediate
Estimated Calories

1939 kcal

Ingredients

  • Pork with skin removed (choose lean to fat ratio as preferred)
  • Vegetable oil
  • Old ginger
  • Green onions (scallions)
  • Cooking wine
  • Salt
  • Five spice powder (or Chinese stewing spice)
  • White pepper powder
  • Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
  • Chicken bouillon powder
  • Crushed Sichuan peppercorn
  • Sichuan peppercorn whole
  • Light soy sauce
  • Eggs
  • Flour (All-purpose)
  • Sweet potato starch (or potato starch)

Steps

  1. ### Making Ginger and Onion Water
  2. Finely slice the old ginger. Do not chop the green onions.
  3. Pour in cooking wine and water according to the calculation formula.
  4. Knead by hand for 5 minutes to fully dissolve the flavor of the ginger and onions into the water.
  5. ### Pork Preparation
  6. Peel and wash the pork.
  7. Cut the pork into strips about 8-10 cm long and 1.5 cm thick.
  8. Add salt, five spice powder, white pepper powder, MSG, chicken bouillon, crushed Sichuan peppercorn, whole Sichuan peppercorn, and light soy sauce to the pork according to the calculation formula above.
  9. Pour in the prepared ginger and onion water.
  10. Mix well and knead thoroughly for 10 minutes until the meat absorbs all the water and becomes sticky to the touch.
  11. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  12. ### Coating the Meat
  13. Pour flour and sweet potato starch into the marinated pork, add the egg whites.
  14. Knead thoroughly for 15 minutes.
  15. ### First Fry - Setting the Shape
  16. Pour vegetable oil into the pot. Adjust the amount according to the pot size; the oil surface height should be at least 3 cm.
  17. Heat on high heat to 150°C, then reduce to medium-low to maintain the temperature.
  18. Using chopsticks, insert the breaded meat strips into the oil and mold them into your preferred shape. Fry for 3-5 minutes to set the shape.
  19. Check for a slightly yellow color. Flip with a spatula; if the meat feels slightly firm, it is done. (Specific time depends on meat size, oil temperature, and coating thickness.)
  20. Remove and drain excess oil.
  21. Tips: If you are unsure about the time, fry slightly longer, otherwise the meat will taste slightly raw. If it's your first time, fry one strip at a time to prevent sticking.
  22. ### Second Fry - Finalizing the Dish
  23. Raise the oil temperature to 180°C and put in the already fried meat strips. Fry until golden brown, then remove.

Notes

Small Crispy Meat is crispy outside and tender inside, savory with a faint numbing sensation from the peppercorns. It is a common home-cooked fried dish found in households across the Sichuan-Chongqing region. Pork is rich in protein and fat; after deep-frying, the calorie content is relatively high, making it suitable for occasional indulgences. Although the steps are somewhat extensive, mastering the timing of the first fry (setting) and the second fry (coloring) is key. It is slightly challenging for beginners. Estimated time from start to finish is about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Estimated Difficulty: ★★★
Estimated Calories: 1939 kcal

Calculations:
### Main Ingredients
- Pork 500g

### Auxiliary Ingredients
- Eggs 2
- Flour 30g
- Sweet potato starch 120g

### Ginger and Onion Water
- Old ginger 20g
- Small green onions 15g
- Cooking wine 15g
- Water 80g

### Marinating Seasonings
- Salt 4g
- Five spice powder 2g
- White pepper powder 3g
- MSG 5g
- Chicken bouillon 5g
- Crushed Sichuan peppercorn 3g
- Whole Sichuan peppercorn 3g
- Light soy sauce 8g

- Ensure the sweet potato starch is fully kneaded to break up lumps; there should be no dry granules inside, otherwise it will explode when fried!!!
- If you have too much meat and cannot finish it, fry once and store in the refrigerator. When eating later, take it out and fry once more; the texture remains virtually unaffected.

If you follow this guide and find problems or areas for improvement, please open an Issue or Pull Request.

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