Don't Let the Name Fool You | Sichuan Boiled Meat Shui Zhu Rou Pian Recipe (水煮肉片)
Rated 3.3 stars by 4 users
Author:
Mandy Fu
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Shui Zhu Rou Pian (水煮肉片), often translated as "Sichuan Boiled Meat Slices," is one of the most misnamed dishes in Chinese cuisine. Because "boiled" in English sounds boring, like food cooked in water. In reality, this dish is bold, fragrant, and deeply satisfying.
The term shui zhu (水煮) refers to a classic Sichuan cooking technique in which marinated meat is gently poached until silky tender, then served in a flavorful broth infused with chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and aromatic seasonings. Every bite delivers layers of savory, numbing, and aromatic flavors that have made this dish a beloved staple throughout Sichuan.
Behind the Dish:
The chopped Sichuan peppercorns and red dried chilies are called “刀口辣椒” in Chinese, which means peppers under the blade. This is a key flavor base in many Shui Zhu (水煮) dishes, such as Sichuan Poached Fish with Pickled Mustard Greens (酸菜鱼) and Sichuan Spicy Poached Beef (水煮牛肉). It can be a little messy to make—chilies tend to bounce everywhere when you chop them—but it is absolutely worth the effort. The freshly chopped spices release an incredible aroma and deliver that signature numbing heat that defines Sichuan cooking.
The vegetables in this dish are called 底菜 in Chinese, which means based ingredients. They sit at the bottom of the bowl, soaking up all the flavorful broth. Honestly, I think they are the best part of the dish—they absorb all the spicy, savory flavors while staying crisp and refreshing.
The marinade in this dish, which includes egg white, starch, and a little water, is known as a velveting marinade in Chinese cooking. It creates a thin protective coating, which locks in moisture and gives the meat that smooth, silky texture you often find in Chinese restaurants.
Ingredients
To make the aromatic starch water mixture
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 4 slices of ginger
- 4 scallion, white part only, reserve the green part for garnish
- 3 tbsp of water
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch
To marinate the pork
- 350g / 12.3 oz of pork loin, sliced thinly
- 1/4 tsp of salt
-
1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
- The aromatic starch water mixture
- 1 egg white
To make the chopped Sichuan peppercorns and red dried chilies Dao Kou La Jiao [刀口辣椒]
-
2/3 cups of dry red chilies
-
1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tbsp oil to stir fry
Vegetables to put at the bottom [底菜]
- 113g / 4 oz Chinese celery, cut into stalks
- 113g / 4 oz stem lettuce, cut into bite sized pieces
- 113g / 4 oz bean sprout
To make the spicy broth
- 3 tbsp of oil
- The remaining minced aromatics
- 1/2 tbsp of red chili flakes
-
3 tbsp of Sichuan Dou Ban Jiang
-
3 Tbsp of Chinese fermented chopped chilies (剁椒)
- 3 cups of water or beef stock
To finish the dish
- The chopped Sichuan peppercorns and red chilies Dao Kou La Jiao [刀口辣椒]
- 2 tbsp of minced garlic
- 2 tbsp of diced scallion
- 2 tbsp of diced cilantro
- 2 tsp of toasted sesame seeds
- 3 tbsp of hot oil to pour on the top
Directions
To make the aromatic starch water, blend garlic, ginger, scallion whites, and water in a food processor until roughly chopped. Strain through a sieve, reserving both the liquid and solids.
Mix the liquid with cornstarch until smooth. This becomes the base of your velveting marinade.
Slice pork into 1/8-inch thick pieces and season with salt, ground black pepper, aromatic starch water mixture, and egg white. Stir gently for about 5 minutes or until the meat fully absorbs the liquid. Set aside.
To make the Dao Kou La Jiao, add oil and red dried chilies to a wok and stir over low heat for a minute or 2. Then add the Sichuan peppercorns because they burn faster and toast gently until slightly darkened and fragrant.
Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop. Keep chilies bigger in size and crush peppercorns finely for balance. Set aside.
Quickly stir-fry Chinese celery, bean sprouts, and stem lettuce over high heat for about 2 minutes and transfer them to a big serving bowl.
In the same wok, add oil and the reserved chopped aromatics and stir until fragrant.
Add chili flakes, doubanjiang, and fermented chilies. Stir until the oil turns deep red and aromatic.
Pour in water or stock and bring to a boil. Simmer briefly to develop flavor. Strain if you prefer a cleaner broth.
Add marinated pork to the simmering broth. Gently stir to separate slices. Cook over medium-low heat until just cooked through. Do not overcook.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed—doubanjiang and fermented chilies are already salty.
Add the cooked pork and the hot broth to the vegetables and top with garlic, scallions, cilantro, sesame seeds, and Dao Kou La Jiao.
Heat oil until smoking hot and pour over the top. The sizzling aroma is the signature moment of this dish.
Recipe Note
Tips
You can substitute Chinese celery with Western celery if needed. However, the stems are thicker so you will have to cut them into stalks first and julienne them lengthwise.
Stem lettuce (you mai cai) can be replaced with romaine lettuce.
