Pressure Cooker Sichuan Style Pork

After spending 16 days teaching English in China this July, I was craving some of the foods I ate there. And I ate a lot of delicious food while I was there. Delicious and spicy! I was in Sichuan, after all.

This recipe has quite a few steps to it and takes much longer than most of my pressure cooker meals, but I just love the way it turned out both times I made it in the pc.

This will probably also require you to make a stop at your local Asian market to pick up some of the more authentic ingredients. Some you may not be able to find at all.

Marinade:

Cut up 1-2 pounds boneless pork into large chunks (use dark pork meat, not a white loin meat)

Whisk together:
2 Tablespoons sherry and soy sauce
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Pour over pork and let marinade in fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Oil:

Heat 1/8 cup oil in a small saute pan.

Add:
 1/2 Tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorns (just leave them out if you can't find them, these are what makes Sichuan food special and will not be like anything else you've ever tried)
10 dried red chilies
Saute in oil for about 15-30 seconds.
Remove from heat and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

Veggies: 

Mix in small bowl:
1 Tablespoon each of minced garlic & ginger (I use jarred)
1 handful of sliced green onion

Cut up into large pieces:
1 large potato (scrub, but do not peel)
3 narrow carrots (scrub, but do not peel)
1/2 white onion
10 mushrooms

Sauce:

Mix in small bowl:
2 Tablespoons sushi vinegar & chili bean paste (again this will be at the Asian market)
1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce & sherry
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
4 teaspoons sugar

Cook: 

Preheat your pressure cooker on the meat setting with the lid off.
Strain your oil from the saute pan into your pressure cooker.

Add the meat and stir and cook until it is browned.

Add the garlic/ginger/green onion mixture and continue to cook a couple of minutes.

Stir in remaining veggies, 5-7 of the chilies and 12 Sichuan peppers from your oil pan, and 1/3 cup raw Spanish peanuts

Pour in sauce and 1/2 cup water. Stir well.

Put on lid and cook for 6 minutes on rice setting.

Quick release and serve with cooked white rice.

To counterbalance the heat, I served it with cucumbers marinaded in sushi vinegar and sesame seeds and lychee fruit.

Oh and a fun chunky drink like I had in China...