Stir-Fried Pork with Fresh Chilli 小炒肉

How it is made

In the bureau's recipe the fat and lean meat are separated and each cut into small, thin slices about the size of a fingertip, across the grain rather than along it. The fat goes into hot oil first and is fried until lightly golden; the lean follows. Once the meat has lost its red colour, the chilli and garlic go in and are tossed often so the meat does not scorch. Water and soy sauce are then added so that the chilli and garlic flavour gets into the meat; some cooks add fermented black beans (豆豉), soaked first. When the sauce darkens and smells rich, the dish is seasoned with salt and MSG and served.

Jiangxi Daily (江西日报) described the Pingxiang dish in 2026 as aiming for a dry fragrance: pork belly fried until it curls and browns, then stir-fried hard with green peppers and green garlic shoots.

Where it comes from

Pingxiang was named China's "chilli capital" (中国辣都) in October 2024, according to a People's Daily Online (人民网) report carried by China Daily (中国日报). Its report names Pingxiang xiaochaorou, with Lianhua blood duck (莲花血鸭) and Nankeng goose (南坑鹅肉), among the well-known dishes it describes, and says Jiangxi heat is the raw, fresh heat of chilli rather than the sour heat of Yunnan and Guizhou or the numbing heat of Sichuan and Chongqing. At lunchtime in one Anyuan District (安源区) restaurant, the reporter watched plate after plate of Pingxiang stir-fries leave the kitchen, xiaochaorou among them.