Spicy, savory Sichuan Pork Ragu is bursting with umami flavor for a quick weeknight dinner!
Sichuan Pork Ragu | A Delicious Chinese Dish
A while back, I shared pictures of a wonderful Sichuan Pork Ragu and a few of you asked for the recipe.
I wrote the lovely people at Lucky Peach and asked if I could feature their recipe, and they said yes! So I’ll be posting a rendition of their recipe along with a link to their cookbook that you can purchase.
Here’s the very delicious recipe, Reprinted from Lucky Peach Presents: 101 Easy Asian Recipes. Copyright © 2015 by Lucky Peach, LLC. Photos by Gabriele Stabile. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. You can buy the book here .
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fast. This amazing low carb pork ragu will be on your table in under 30 minutes.
- Easy. Follow just a few simple steps to make this quick and easy stovetop recipe .
- Low Carb . Only 7 net carbs per serving.
- Delicious. The pork marinade makes this dish explode with flavor.
What Meat Is Ragu?
You can make a Ragu out of a variety of types of ground meat. The most popular types of ragus are beef and pork. If you love the flavors in this dish, don’t be afraid to experiment with other varieties of protein to help use the ingredients you already have in your kitchen.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Oil
- Yellow onion
- Ground pork- the base of your Pork Ragu.
- Garlic, chopped
- Gochujang - Adds heat and the gorgeous red color to this homemade ragu.
- Sichuan Peppercorns - If you can’t find these, regular black peppercorns will work, but you won’t get that same tongue-tingling sensation.
- Red chili flakes - Helps add a bit of spice to the dish.
- Soy Sauce - Adds a bit of delicious umami flavor.
- Sugar Or Other Sweetener Equivalent - To balance the heat of the pepper and chili flakes.
- Kosher Salt
- Bok choy - Adds beautiful color and freshness to the recipe.
- Chopped Green Scallions - These are optional and used for garnish.
How To Make Pork Ragu
- Heat oil in a wide deep skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 15 minutes. Scoop them out into a plate and wipe out the skillet.
- Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add ground pork. Break it into smaller pieces with a spoon and cook through until it reaches a safe internal temperature. This takes about 8 minutes.
- Push the meat to one side and add garlic to the pork. Cook until fragrant and then stir in chili-bean paste, peppercorns, chili flakes, soy sauce, sugar, water, and reserved onions. Season with salt to taste.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat, and stir in the chopped bok choy. Cook until the veggies are tender.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t skip the marinade.
- Let it rest.
- Get Creative.
- Prep Your Ingredients.
How Long Does It Last?
For best results, I would suggest enjoying any leftovers within 3-4 days of preparing them. Such a delightful recipe deserves to be eaten while it is fragrant and full of flavor.
If you have fresh pork or pork that has a longer “use by” date than that, you can extend its life of it by another day or two.
What To Serve With Pork Ragu?
This Pork Ragu is incredibly flavorful and filling, so making sides to go with it is completely optional. If you’re looking to make your dinner spread a little more impressive, here are a few of my favorite things to serve alongside it:
- Instant Pot Rice
- Air Fryer Broccoli
- Roasted Green Beans
More Delicious Chinese Recipes
This is such a versatile dish and it makes a great base for a multitude of add-ins. Here are a few of my favorite things to serve with this Pork Ragu recipe:
- Air Fryer Ribs
- Spiced Butternut Squash
- Chicken Congee
- Dan Dan Chicken
- Sticky Rice with Sausage
Sichuan Pork Ragu
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 2 tablespoons ) Oil , (I used peanut oil)
- ▢ 2 ( 2 ) finely chopped yellow onion , sliced (about 5 c)
- ▢ 1 pound ( 453.59 g ) ground pork
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 1 tablespoon ) Garlic , chopped
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 2 tablespoons ) Gochujang , (spicy korean bean-chili paste)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 1 tablespoon ) Sichuan Peppercorns , (NOT black peppercorns)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ( 1 teaspoon ) red chili flakes
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 1 tablespoon ) Soy Sauce
- ▢ 1/2 tablespoon ( 0.5 tablespoon ) Sugar Or Other Sweetener Equivalent , (note original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon i used less)
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 62.5 g ) Water
- ▢ Kosher Salt , to taste
- ▢ 2 cups ( 140 g ) bok choy, , coarsely chopped
- ▢ Chopped Green Scallions , for garnish
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide deep skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 15 minutes. Scoop them out into a plate and wipe out the skillet.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pain and ad ground pork. Break into smaller pieces with a spoon and cook through until just cooked, about 8 minutes.
- Push the meat to one side and add garlic to the pork. Cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant and then stir in chili-bean paste, peppercorns, chili flakes, soy sauce, sugar, water, and reserved onions. Season with salt to taste.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat, and stir in the chopped bok choy. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the veggies are tender.
- We served this with Shiratki noodles one day and the leftovers with cucumber “noodles” the next day.
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Nutrition
Don’t forget to check out my other Ketocookbooks.
Keto Instant Pot, Keto Fat Bombs, Sweets, & Treats , and Easy keto in 30 minutes.
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Sichuan Pork Ragu
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Oil (I used peanut oil)
- 2 finely chopped yellow onion sliced (about 5 c)
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon Garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons Gochujang (spicy korean bean-chili paste)
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan Peppercorns (NOT black peppercorns)
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Sugar Or Other Sweetener Equivalent (note original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon i used less)
- 1/2 cup Water
- Kosher Salt to taste
- 2 cups bok choy, coarsely chopped
- Chopped Green Scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide deep skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 15 minutes. Scoop them out into a plate and wipe out the skillet.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pain and ad ground pork. Break into smaller pieces with a spoon and cook through until just cooked, about 8 minutes.
- Push the meat to one side and add garlic to the pork. Cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant and then stir in chili-bean paste, peppercorns, chili flakes, soy sauce, sugar, water, and reserved onions. Season with salt to taste.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat, and stir in the chopped bok choy. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the veggies are tender.
- We served this with Shiratki noodles one day and the leftovers with cucumber “noodles” the next day.
Sichuan Pork Ragu https://twosleevers.com/sichuan-pork-ragu/
Here is a list of 11 things that I consider weight loss basics or keto basics that help me lose a regain from following the basic things that I did while on Keto the first time.
10 Things to Get Back to Keto Basics
It’s been almost 3 years since I had weight loss surgery and two years since I hit my goal weight. I’ve put on a few pounds from where I usually hover, and I’ve decided that while that is not the end of the world, I don’t like it.
I look at my pictures, and I can see the extra weight even though it’s just a few pounds. I have some additional fat on my upper stomach and on my back that wasn’t there before, my pants are tighter and I am not happy about any of it.
It’s time to get back to Keto Basics.
I’m glad I was able to maintain for so long without regain, but I see that I’ve drifted away from some basic habits I had, so here is what I know I need to do. These were the Keto Basics and Weight Loss basics that really helped me lose the weight in the first place.
Go back to pre-planning and tracking. I used to plan by meals the night before or that morning, and I used to track everything I put in my mouth. I don’t know why I stopped doing that, but I must do that again. It only takes about 10 minutes, but it pays off big time.
Drink lots of liquids. Often when I think I’m hungry, if I drink a little bit, it will take care of it. I’ve stopped focusing on how much I drink, but that’s an easy fix.
Eat no more than 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food at a time. Earlier on, this is easy. But as your capacity grows, it’s very easy to eat more in one sitting than you should. I have to get back to eyeballing my portions again.
Weigh all my food. I am still pretty good at being able to guesstimate weight, but if you go over an ounce or two at each meal, that adds up to several hundred more calories than you should be eating, so it’s back to weighing again.
Fast between meals . NO grazing. If I got hungry within 3-4 hours of my last meal, I used to drink instead because I knew that couldn’t be real hunger. Not only does it limit calories, but it also reduces my insulin response. I have to remember that I am either feasting (eating) or fasting (going without food). And your body doesn’t burn fat when feasting. so the longer I fast, the more I burn.
Saying no to carb-based dishes like sandwiches, pasta etc. These have definitely crept back in. Used to be, I didn’t even think about it, certain foods were just taboo. Now I eat them too often and it’s showing.
Monitoring carbs and keeping them below 40 gms for weight loss, and below 75 gms for maintenance. I am super carb sensitive. While others can eat a lot more than 75 gms for maintenance (after all, 100-150 gms is considered low carb by American standards),I didn’t win the genetic lottery on this one. So it’s time for me to cut my carbs.
Eating more protein. Not eating enough protein is what got me in trouble in the first place. I’m a reluctant carnivore and would rather eat carbs than meat. But that doesn’t work for me. I’ve been tracking for three days and I see how low my protein intake is. I need to up that ASAP.
Accepting hunger and not thinking it needed to be fixed immediately since often it went away. Truth is, there’s no way to lose weight without being hungry, so I just need to accept that I will be hungry, and move on.
Be patient. With my record, it wouldn’t surprise me if I only lost a pound every other week. If I want to lose 10 pounds, it may be close to 4 months before I can do that. So I just need to get into that mindset.
So basically, just act like I did right after the surgery when I was trying to lose weight and accept that I will have to do this for the rest of my life. I really don’t know why I was in such a hurry to get to my goal weight–nothing has changed. I still need to do the same things I used to do while losing.
Day three of low carbs and I’m tired, hungry, and everyone is annoying me. Wish me luck!
