Sliced Pork with Garlic Sauce (Suan Ni Bai Rou)

Nov 16, 2025
1 min read

If you love garlic, then this is the dish for you. Vampires will not be visiting you anytime soon after you've partaken of this garlic palooza. I think there are a couple variations of the sauce for this recipe, one of which is classic Taiwanese and reminiscent of what my mom makes- basically just very finely minced garlic with soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and water. Another sauce is spicier with the addition of sliced fresh chilies and/or chili oil (a Szechuan version). Pork belly or pork loin work well for this dish, but pork belly is the best. Btw, both sauces would also work well as dumpling dipping sauces.

Searing the Beef

Sear beef fillets on high heat for 2 minutes per side to form a golden crust. Let it cool before proceeding to keep the beef tender.

Mushroom Duxelles

Cook the mushrooms until all moisture evaporates to prevent soggy pastry. Aim for a thick, paste-like consistency.

Puff Pastry Handling

Keep the puff pastry cold to avoid softness. Chill if it becomes too soft, and score the top lightly without cutting through.

Notes

Place the pork belly or pork shoulder, sliced scallions, 5 slices ginger, star anise, 1 tsp whole Szechuan peppercorns, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine and 8 cups water; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover the pan partially and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the pork is very tender. Turn off heat, reserve the broth and set aside.

In the meantime, MAKE THE SAUCE. You can choose between one of two versions:

For the Taiwanese-style sauce, just mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside until ready to use.

For the Szechuan-style sauce place the minced garlic, ginger, white parts of the scallions, ground Szechuan peppercorns, and red chili flakes into a bowl; heat the 1/4 cup of oil in a small pan for about 20 seconds or until just hot, then pour over the garlic-ginger spice mixture; stir to combine. Stir in the soy, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds, green parts of the scallions & pork broth or water.