Crispy Salt and Pepper Boneless Pork (Thịt Heo Rang Muối Tiêu)
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Looking for a delicious appetizer or a crispy pork to add to rice or noodles?
Try this restaurant-style crispy salt and pepper boneless pork (thịt heo muối tiêu).
You can typically find this dish at many Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants.
Now you can make it at home for a fraction of the cost.
This recipe starts with thinly sliced pork shoulder, coated in a savory spice blend and a light batter.
The pork is then deep-fried to golden, crispy perfection, but the flavors don't stop there.
Heat up a wok and sauté aromatics like shallots, garlic, and your choice of peppers until fragrant.
Finally, add the crispy fried pork pieces, toss until well combined, and you're done.
Enjoy the bite-sized pieces of deep-fried pork that's crispy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside.
It's seriously slap-your-mama’s-behind delicious.
What You Will Need
To make this Vietnamese crispy salt and pepper boneless pork, gather the following ingredients:
Pork Shoulder: Pork shoulder has a good amount of fat to keep the pork soft and juicy.
Baking Soda: A restaurant hack to tenderize the pork meat quickly.
Salt, Black, and White Ground Pepper: The main seasoning ingredients.
Chicken Bouillon Powder: Every Vietnamese home cook’s hack to add umami flavor. Chicken bouillon powder typically includes a little bit of MSG (monosodium glutamate). Another alternative is mushroom powder. If you don’t want to use bouillon powders, you can use plain MSG. If you are not a fan of either, you can omit entirely. It just may not reach its full flavor potential.
Garlic and Onion Powder: The dry aromatics help with the seasoning. If you can get your hands on granulated garlic, it’s much more delicious than garlic powder.
Shaoxing Cooking Wine: Enhances the dish with its amazing aroma when it hits hot oil.
Corn Starch: Creates a crispy exterior when fried. You can substitute with potato starch or even tapioca flour.
Egg: Binds the corn starch together for a light batter.
Aromatics: Fresh shallots, garlic, and your choice of peppers. If you like it spicy, use jalapeños for a vibrant green color and a mix of red Thai chili peppers (birds’ eye peppers). If you don’t like it spicy, use a mix of colorful sweet peppers (they look just like jalapeños but are not spicy) or bell peppers.
Neutral oil: Used for deep frying. I’m using vegetable oil.
How to Make It
Step 1: Prepare the Pork
I’m quite sensitive to the smell of pork so I typically give it a good clean. To clean the pork, rub with coarse sea salt and then rinse and drain dry.
If you're like me, I’d recommend to do the same. If not, go ahead and skip the cleaning.
Trim off any excess fat then slice into bite-sized thin pieces.
Place the pork in a bowl. Add baking soda, water, salt, chicken bouillon powder, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cooking wine.
Hold off on the egg and corn starch for now. Marinate the pork for at least 30 minutes or overnight for better flavor.
Step 2: Deep Fry
Fill a wide wok or skillet (at least 10-inches wide) with 2 inches of oil and heat to 375°F.
While waiting for the oil to come to temperature, add egg and corn starch to the pork mixture.
Mix until the egg is broken and the pork pieces are well coated with a thick slurry. Quickly and carefully drop the pork pieces one by one into the hot oil.
Deep fry in two batches to prevent overcrowding and dropping the temperature. Deep fry for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the fried pork to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Repeat with the second batch.
Step 3: Pan Fry and Add Aromatics
Remove the oil from the wok, leaving about 2 tablespoons (a thin layer). Add minced garlic, shallots, and jalapeños/bell peppers.
Sauté until fragrant (about 20 seconds on really high heat to get the wok hei flavor). Add the fried pork back into the wok.
Toss quickly until the pork is evenly coated with the garlic and jalapeños/bell/sweet peppers. No need to cook further.
Tips for Success
Oil Temperature: Maintain temperature of at least 350°F when deep frying for the perfect crisp. Keep in mind when adding pork pieces it will quickly drop the temperature, which is why I recommend starting with the temperature at 375°F instead.
Coating: Ensure an even coat of corn starch on each piece of pork.
Quick Cooking: Boneless pork fries up quickly. Deep frying for too long will dry it out and makes the inside rubbery. So fry quickly to retain tenderness.
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Crispy Salt and Pepper Boneless Pork (Thịt Heo Rang Muối Tiêu)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare the Pork: Rub with a teaspoon salt and rinse with water to remove any odor and drain dry (optional). Trim off any excess fat then slice into bite-sized thin pieces. Place the pork in a bowl. Add baking soda, water, salt, chicken bouillon powder, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cooking wine. Hold off on the egg and cornstarch for now. Marinate at least 30 minutes or overnight for better flavor.
- Deep Fry the Pork: Fill a wide wok or skillet (at least 10-inches wide) with 2 inches of oil and heat to 375°F. While waiting for the oil to come to temperature, add egg and cornstarch to the pork mixture. Mix until the egg is broken and the pork pieces are well coated with a thick slurry. Quickly and carefully drop the pork pieces one by one into the hot oil. Deep fry in two batches to prevent overcrowding and dropping the temperature. Deep fry for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the fried pork to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Repeat with the second batch.
- Pan Fry and Add Aromatics: Remove the oil from the wok, leaving about 2 tablespoons (a thin layer). Add minced garlic, shallots, and jalapeños/bell peppers. Sauté until fragrant (about 20 seconds on really high heat to get the wok hei flavor). Add the fried pork back into the wok. Toss quickly until the pork is evenly coated with the garlic and jalapeños/bell peppers. No need to cook further.
- Serve: Transfer the fried pork and all the aromatics to a serving plate and enjoy immediately for the best crunch.
