Published: · Modified: by Christie Lai
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Chinese Salt and Pepper Pork. Delicious pork strips shallow fried and seasoned in a flavourful aromatic salt and pepper seasoning. Ready in 30 minutes!
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- Ingredients
- Expert Tips
- How to make Chinese Salt and Pepper Pork
- Other recipes you may like!
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Reviews
These easysalt and pepper porkchops are quick to make in under 30 minutes with minimal and simple ingredients! They serve well as a main course for dinner or lunch with white rice and vegetables! It's a popular Chinese dish known for it's aromatic flavors and crispy pork!
Whenever we visit our favourite Chinese restaurant or order takeaway we always add salt and pepper fried pork to the list! It is such a must, thanks to its savoury flavour with a hint of spice and crispy textures. Every bite is so delicious and packed with flavor.
My version of this dish is also not deep fried and it's shallow fried so there's less oil being used making it more healthier. The restaurants usually deep fry the pork in a lot of oil, which is wasteful for most homecooks unless you reuse the oil.
If you're not a fan of pork, I also share other salt and pepper recipes such as and that are equally enjoyable!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Boneless pork shoulder: try to make sure it's well marbled
- Large Red Chilies
- Large Green Chili
- Green onion
- Fresh ginger
- White granulated sugar
- Shaoxing wine:this is a Chinese rice wine. You may also substitute with Dry Sherry.
- Neutral oil:like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils with a low smoke point.
- Salt
- Black pepper
Pork Marinade
- Shaoxing wine: or substitute with Dry Sherry.
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
Expert Tips
- Use a cut of pork that is thin and marbled with fat. This is key to a juicy tender pork dish. If you use pork loins that are dry, then expect a dry salt and pepper pork.
- Prepare your ingredients in advance as the cooking process is quick!
- Do not overcook the aromatics. Only sauté until fragrant or you can easily burn them.
How to make Chinese Salt and Pepper Pork
- Slice pork into 1-inch wide strips that are 2 inches long. Then tenderize pork strips with a meat tenderizer or meat mallet until it’s thin, about 0.25 to 0.5 inches thick. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Season the pork strips with pork marinade ingredients starting with shaoxing wine, salt and black pepper. Give it a mix and then coat the pork strips with cornstarch. You will have leftover cornstarch and that’s normal. Make sure every crevice is coated in the starch to ensure maximum crispiness.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully lower a small batch of the marinated pork. Do not overcrowd your pan. Fry pork on both sides until golden crispy and no longer pink inside, between 6-10 minutes. Remove and transfer fried pork to a wire rack or paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil.
- Reserve 1 teaspoon of oil in the pan, reduce to medium heat and fry red chilli, green chilli, green onion, ginger, and sugar. Deglaze with shaoxing wine. Stir fry for 10 seconds.
- Quickly toss in cooked pork strips for 20 seconds. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Remove off heat and serve hot.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
Other recipes you may like!
- Peking Pork Chops
- Tangsuyuk Korean Sweet And Sour Pork
- Non-Spicy Korean Pork Bulgogi
- Pork Katsu Onigirazu
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Chinese Salt and Pepper Pork
Christie Lai
Chinese Salt and Pepper Pork. Delicious pork strips shallow fried and seasoned in a flavourful aromatic salt and pepper seasoning. Ready in 30 minutes!
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 7
Calories per serving 397 kcal
Ingredients
- 1.65 lb boneless pork shoulder well marbled
- 2 large red chili pepper sliced
- 1 large green chilli sliced
- 2 green onions finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon ginger sliced with skin on
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar or sub with cane sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil for frying pork
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or sub with Dry sherry wine
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Pork Marinade
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or sub with Dry sherry wine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup cornstarch or potato starch
Instructions
Slice pork into 1-inch wide strips that are 2 inches long. Then tenderize pork strips with a meat tenderizer or meat mallet until it’s thin, about 0.25 to 0.5 inches thick. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Season the pork strips with pork marinade ingredients starting with shaoxing wine, salt and black pepper. Give it a mix and then coat the pork strips with cornstarch. You will have leftover cornstarch and that’s normal. Make sure every crevice is coated in the starch to ensure maximum crispiness.
Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully lower a small batch of the marinated pork. Do not overcrowd your pan. Fry pork on both sides until golden crispy and no longer pink inside, between 6-10 minutes. Remove and transfer fried pork to a wire rack or paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil.
Reserve 1 teaspoon of oil in the pan, reduce to medium heat and fry red chilli, green chilli, green onion, ginger, and sugar. Deglaze with shaoxing wine. Stir fry for 10 seconds.
Quickly toss in cooked pork strips for 20 seconds. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Remove off heat and serve hot.
Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!
Suggested Equipment & Products
Nutrition
Calories: 397kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 416mg | Potassium: 364mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 166IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Kim
What pork cut do you usually use?
Reply
christieathome
I usually use pork shoulder as it contains a good marbling of fat through.
Reply
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Looks awesome, Christie!! I'm craving this crispy, salty pork now!! Yum!Reply
christieathome
Thanks so much Katherine!
Reply
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
What a fun weeknight dinner! I've never tried this, but I definitely need to... it looks absolutely AMAZING!Reply
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
This salt and pepper pork looks so crispy and flavorful! It will be a hit at my house!Reply
