Lychee Pork (荔枝肉) is a traditional dish from Fuzhou, Fujian, belonging to the Fuzhou cuisine within the broader category of Fujian cuisine. Its history dates back to the Qing Dynasty, making it around 200 to 300 years old. This dish is named for its unique color, shape, and flavor that resemble lychee, and it is beloved by diners.
Ingredients and Selection
The main ingredients for Lychee Pork include lean pork (commonly pork tenderloin, shoulder, or belly) known for its tenderness and juiciness, ensuring a delightful texture and quality. Water chestnuts are typically used, although they can be substituted with other varieties. Accompanying ingredients include green onions, red yeast rice, white vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and starch. When selecting ingredients, it’s crucial to choose fresh pork and crunchy, tender water chestnuts.
Preparation Process
The preparation of Lychee Pork is intricate and involves the following steps:
- Cutting and Scoring the Meat: Clean the pork and cut it into slices about 10×5×1 cm thick, making cross-hatch cuts on each slice before cutting them into smaller pieces. This step is essential for forming the lychee shape.
- Marinating: Combine the cut pork with the water chestnut pieces, adding wet starch and finely chopped red yeast rice (or other seasonings) to marinate, allowing the pork to absorb the flavors.
- Frying: Heat oil in a pan until hot (about 80% heat). Add the marinated pork and water chestnuts to the pan and fry until the pork curls into a lychee shape. Remove and drain the excess oil.
- Sauce and Stir-Frying: Sauté garlic and green onions until fragrant, then add a prepared sweet and sour sauce (made from soy sauce, white vinegar, sugar, MSG, broth, and wet starch) and bring to a boil. Quickly add the fried lychee pork and water chestnuts, tossing to coat evenly with the sauce before plating.
Texture and Characteristics
Once prepared, Lychee Pork boasts a bright red color and lychee-like shape, with a sweet and sour taste and a crunchy, tender texture. Its unique flavor and mouthfeel are a result of careful ingredient selection and refined cooking techniques. The fried pork is crispy on the outside while remaining tender inside, perfectly blending with the sweet and sour sauce to create an unforgettable delicacy.
