Boshan Deep-Fried Pork 博山炸肉

Boshan Deep-Fried Pork (博山炸肉) includes several forms, among them soft-fried tenderloin, hard-fried pork and Guangdong-style fried meat (炸广东肉). The municipal government of Zibo (淄博) describes the familiar version as long strips of lean meat, often tenderloin, fried to a relatively dark colour.

Coating and frying

In Luzhong Morning News, Wang Jiwu (王济武) describes ordinary fried pork as using a thicker batter than the hard-fried version. His method lists lean pork, soy sauce, salt, nanjiu cooking wine (南酒), starch mixed with water and ground Sichuan pepper. The marinated meat is coated and fried twice, with hotter oil for the second frying.

Sichuan pepper at the finish

After draining, ground Sichuan pepper coats the fried meat. The thin, crisp exterior surrounds tender pork; the seasoning adds a slight numbing sensation to its savoury, salty flavour.