Sliced Pork with Garlic & Chili Sauce

Thin slices of simmered pork wrapped around crisp cucumber sticks and drizzled with a punchy garlic chili sauce. This is a classic Chinese cold appetizer that’s all about texture contrasts: silky, tender pork against cool, crunchy cucumber, tied together by a sauce that’s sweet, salty, garlicky, and fiery all at once.

The freezing step is the clever part. After simmering the pork for 15 minutes, you cool it and pop it in the freezer. This firms the meat just enough for paper-thin slicing that would be impossible with room-temperature cooked pork. Thaw the slices before rolling.

The sauce cooks down first: dark soy sauce simmered with sugar until slightly syrupy, then mixed off heat with raw garlic, sesame oil, chili oil, and vinegar. That raw garlic stays sharp and pungent, which is exactly what you want against the mild pork.

Seed the cucumber before cutting into sticks. Seeds add moisture that makes the rolls slippery and harder to eat. Clean, firm sticks hold their crunch and stay wrapped.

Chef Tips

• Use leg meat for the leanest, most uniform slices. Fattier cuts fall apart when sliced thin.
• Cut 12 even slices. A sharp knife and partially frozen meat make this straightforward.
• Serve chilled or at room temperature. This is a cold dish by design.
• Adjust the chili oil to your heat tolerance. Start with 1 teaspoon and add more at the table.

Variations

• Scallion rolls: Replace cucumber sticks with blanched scallion whites for a sharper, more aromatic filling.
• Spicy Szechuan: Double the chili oil and add 1 teaspoon ground Szechuan pepper to the sauce for numbing heat.
• Dipping style: Skip rolling and arrange the pork slices flat on a plate over shredded cucumber, spooning the sauce over the top.