Sliced Pork with Garlic Sauce (Suan Ni Bai Rou)

If you love garlic, then this is the dish for you. Vampires will not be visiting you anytime soon after you've partaken of this garlic palooza. I think there are a couple variations of the sauce for this recipe, one of which is classic Taiwanese and reminiscent of what my mom makes- basically just very finely minced garlic with soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and water. Another sauce is spicier with the addition of sliced fresh chilies and/or chili oil (a Szechuan version). Pork belly or pork loin work well for this dish, but pork belly is the best. 

Btw, both sauces would also work well as dumpling dipping sauces. 

Ingredients:

1 lb. (2 pieces) pork belly or pork shoulder

2 scallions, cut into 3 sections each

5 thin slices ginger

1 star anise

1 tsp. whole Szechuan peppercorns

2 tbsp. Shaoxing wine

8 cups water

Traditional (Taiwanese-style) Garlic Sauce:
10 cloves of garlic, finely minced (run through a microplane shredder or garlic press)
3 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. water or pork broth
2 tbsp. rice or black vinegar

Spicy (Szechuan-style) Garlic Sauce:
10 cloves of garlic, finely minced 

2 tsp. ginger, finely minced

2 scallions, minced (white & green parts separated)

1 tsp. ground Szechuan peppercorn

1 tsp. red chili flakes

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. black vinegar vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar

1/3 cup reserved pork cooking broth or water

1 tsp. toasted white sesame seeds

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Place the pork belly or pork shoulder, 2 scallions, 5 slices ginger, star anise, 1 tsp. whole Szechuan peppercorns, 2 tbsp. Shaoxing wine and 8 cups water; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover the pan partially and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the pork is very tender. Turn off heat and set aside.

2. In the meantime, MAKE THE SAUCE: 

    a. For the traditional Taiwanese-style sauce, just mix all ingredients together in a small 

        until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside until ready to use.

    b. For the Szechuan-style sauce: place the minced garlic, ginger, white parts of the scallions, 

         ground Szechuan peppercorns, and red chili flakes into a bowl; heat the 1/4 cup of oil in a

         small pan for about 20 seconds or until just hot, then pour over the garlic-ginger spice

         mixture; stir to combine. Stir in the soy, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds, green

         parts of the scallions & pork broth or water. 

3. Remove the pork to a chopping board and cut each into thirds. Thinly slice each piece on the long side. 

4. Arrange the pork slices on a plate and drizzle the top with sauce. Garnish with chopped cilantro. 

Run the garlic cloves through a microplane shredder to get a fine mince.  

Traditional garlic sauce with minced garlic, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar and sugar.

Pork with traditional garlic sauce garnished with chopped cilantro.