Salt and Pepper Pork

I first went to Hong Kong right after the handover and it was a travel awakening. And down a little alley on Jordan Road in Kowloon my family and I found what looked like a reasonable place to eat. The tables were plastic and outside. There were no napkins, but rather a roll of toilet paper in the center of every table. The service was quick and snippy but the food was what I remembered most. So much so that when I finally moved to Hong Kong I would go back to that same restaurant at least once a week. This is my recreation of that little alley restaurant’s salt and pepper pork, made exactly as I remember it.

Salt and pepper pork, or any salt and pepper meat really, is a popular Cantonese dish that has pretty much been exported around the world without many changes. This is the opposite to many things people consider ‘fusion’ like General Tso’s Chicken or Beef and Broccoli. In fact, the salt&pepper pork that I’ve gotten in places like London or South Carolina really isn’t different from the one I get in Hong Kong – which is great for those cravings when I travel.

If you don’t live near a place that serves an authentic Canto salt and pepper pork then you can use this easy recipe to make your own at home. While many Chinese families have their own recipes and variations, I’ve tried to keep this one similar to the one that I tried on my first visit to Hong Kong.

By the way if you like Hong Kong or Cantonese style Chinese food, then you might also like my Dim Sum Pork Belly, Black Bean Shrimp, or my recipe for Pork and Shrimp Shumai!

How To Cook Authentic Salt and Pepper Pork At Home

To make salt and pepper pork at home, you first have to buy the right pork. While any pork will technically work, the traditional choice is pork chop or pork tenderloin. While it may seem treasonous to chop up a beautiful pork chop, it really does make the dish better.

Like many Chinese dishes, the first step is to velvet the meat. Velveting is a technique that uses baking soda in a marinade to make meat really, really tender. While a pork chop doesn’t necessarily need to be more tender, this velveting marinade still creates some benefit resulting in extra tender and juicy pork.

Salt and Pepper Pork Velvet Marinade Ingredients

• 500 grams Pork Chop (Cut into rather large chunks)
• 2 tbsp Neutral Oil (like Canola, Soy, or Sunflower Oil)
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing Wine
• 2 tbsp Corn Starch
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp White Pepper
• 1/2 tsp MSG
• 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce

Unlike some other Chinese recipes, we are not going to velvet AND rinse. Instead we are just going to let the baking soda infused marinade do ALL the work. Simply mix everything together and massage a bit with your hands, then cover and place in the fridge for an hour to infuse.

The next step is to beat two eggs well, then pour it into the salt and pepper pork bowl. Does this seem weird to you? It seemed weird to me as well at first, but this simply thickens the marinade even more, which causes more corn starch to cling to the meat when frying.

Make a frying station. In a pot begin to heat up neutral oil to 175 Celsius. Place another bowl nearby with a good amount of corn starch. I use about 300 grams for the entire batch, but you may need more or less depending on your bowl size.

The frying part is easy enough. Here is the salt and pepper pork frying method in an easy step by step format:

1. Pluck a piece of pork from the marinade, shake off excess liquid.
2. Roll it in the corn starch, shake off excess corn starch.
3. Gently place it in the hot oil. Let deep fry for 3-4 minutes.
4. Remove and place on an elevated rack so the excess oil doesn’t create a soggy coating.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4. This time only fry for another 2 minutes for that traditional Chinese extra crispy fried pork texture!

While the pork is frying you can prepare the other stuff that goes in this delicious salt and pepper pork dish. While there are differences depending on the restaurant, or person cooking, these are my favorite add-ins. I chop up a dozen or so spring onions. The whites I chop into small pieces, and the greens into about 3-4 inch lengths. I also thinly slice 5 cloves of garlic, 1 hot chili pepper, and two shallots.

A great thing about this salt and pepper pork recipe is there isn’t a thick, viscous sauce like many Chinese dishes. The real star of the show is the super crispy pork, so the additions are just for extra flavor. In a large wok or pan add a bit of neutral oil and fry the shallot, garlic, and pepper for 15 seconds or so. You don’t want to burn the garlic, this step just helps increase the pungency of garlic and spice.

Add in all the crispy pork along with the green onions and a couple tablespoons of chopped peanuts. Also sprinkle over another 1/2 tsp of White Pepper. Give everything a good mix and you can go ahead and plate to serve!

Hong Kong style salt and pepper pork is one of my absolute favorite Chinese recipes so I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Feel free to customize it to suit your tastes as well. I’ve gotten it with other things added like raw onion, a drizzle of soy sauce, some dry shrimps, and more.