Chinese · Hunan · main

Hunan Smoked Bacon with Green Garlic (La Rou Chao Suan Miao)

Hunan Smoked Bacon with Green Garlic (La Rou Chao Suan Miao) reads umami 4.8, salinity 4.7 and allium 4.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Hunan main, about 37 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 5.7 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.4 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 0.6 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 3.5 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 3.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 4.8 · Salinity 4.7 · Allium 4.2 · Funk & Ferment 3.6 · Sweetness 3.3 · Smoke 3.2 · Heat 3.0 · Nutty 2.6 · Richness 2.5 · Warm Spice 2.2 · Bitterness 1.1 · Earthy 0.9 · Sourness 0.6

What's in it (12)

• hunanese smoked cured pork — 300 g
• chinese green garlic stems — 250 g
• peanut oil — 14 g
• fermented black beans — 15 g
• garlic — 9 g
• fresh ginger — 15 g
• dried red chillies — 20 g
• fresh red chili pepper — 200 g
• shaoxing wine — 15 g
• soy sauce — 10 g
• caster sugar — 2 g
• salt — 1 g

Time & effort: about 37 min · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 14.8 kcal, 0.6 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 3.1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

1. Rinse the cured pork under warm water to take off the surface soot and steam it whole 25 to 30 minutes, until the fat has gone translucent and a chopstick enters the lean easily. Do not skip this: unsteamed la rou is leathery and ferociously salty, and the steaming both softens and moderates it.
2. Cool slightly, then slice 2 mm thick, keeping the strip of skin, fat and lean on every piece.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat, add the bacon and stir-fry 2 minutes, until the fat turns glassy, slicks the wok and the edges curl.
4. Add the black beans, garlic, ginger and dried chillies and stir 30 seconds.
5. Turn the heat to high, add the green garlic and fresh chillies with the salt and toss 60 to 90 seconds, just until the stems go limp and the green parts collapse. Splash in the Shaoxing wine, add the soy sauce and sugar, toss twice and serve. It should be smoky, salty and hot, with no sauce sitting in the bottom of the dish.
6. Substitutions: young leeks can stand in for the Chinese green garlic stems.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Farmhouse Stir-Fried Pork (Nong Jia Xiao Chao Rou) — Chinese · Hunan
• Ssamjang (쌈장) — Korean
• Dakgalbi (닭갈비) — Korean
• Gochujang Carbonara with Crispy Bacon — Fusion
• Water-Boiled Beef (Shui Zhu Niu Rou) — Chinese · Sichuan

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.