Guo bao rou

Step 1: Stir 5 ½ oz potato starch into ¾ cup water and leave for at least 20 minutes (an hour is better). Pour off the clear water on top; you want a thick paste that just drips from a spoon.

Step 2: Use a separate board for the raw pork. Season 14 oz pork tenderloin with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground white pepper, then turn the slices through the starch paste until each one is coated.

Step 3: Heat 4 ¼ cups neutral oil in a wok or deep pan to 325°F. Fry the slices one at a time so they do not stick, in two batches, for 2–3 minutes until set and pale gold. Lift out onto a rack.

Step 4: Raise the oil to 375°F and fry all the pork again for 1 minute until deep gold and hard-crisp; tapped with chopsticks it should sound hollow. The thin slices will be well past 145°F (145 °F) and white all the way through. Drain on the rack.

Step 5: Mix 2 ⅛ oz sugar, 3 ½ tbsp white rice vinegar, 1 tsp light soy sauce and ¼ tsp salt in a small bowl until the sugar mostly dissolves.

Step 6: Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil. Over a medium-high heat stir-fry ½ oz fresh ginger, ½ carrot, 1 spring onion and 2 garlic cloves for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Step 7: Pour in the sauce and let it bubble for 30–60 seconds until it thickens to large, glossy bubbles.

Step 8: Tip in the pork and toss fast for 15 seconds so every slice is glazed. Don't let it sit in the sauce or simmer; that is the usual mistake and turns the crust soft. Scatter over the coriander and serve at once.