Hunan pork with chili peppers

Get to know the dish

The Hunan provincial government lists stir-fried pork with chili peppers among the dishes it says visitors to Hunan should eat. China Daily’s government portal describes slices of pork with green peppers and garlic, and says what makes it Hunanese is the province’s thin local green or red peppers, which absorb oil from the pork. Recipe writers often call it xiao chao rou, “little stir-fried pork”: China Sichuan Food says “little” marks a humble dish that is easy to make at home. A 2010 Telegraph report, reprinted by History News Network, says Hunan codified stir-fried peppers with pork in an official recipe book, along with steamed fish head with peppers.

What to look for

More pepper than you might expect, soft, wrinkled and lightly charred, with thin pork slices whose fat has run into the peppers. China Sichuan Food and SBS both cook the peppers first until softened and a little blistered.

Every kitchen has its version

Cut, pepper and seasoning vary. China Sichuan Food mixes pork belly with a little lean meat and adds garlic sprouts; SBS uses very thin skinless pork belly, bullhorn chillies and salted black beans; The Woks of Life uses shoulder or loin. English menus translate the name in different ways, and China Daily’s portal calls it sauteed pork with pepper.

Last reviewed 2026-10-06