Braised Whole Pig's Head
The pig's head is scraped, washed, and blanched to remove impurities, then braised for two hours with an assortment of spices and seasonings. It is finally reassembled into the shape of a whole pig's head and served with sauce poured over.
Ingredients
Black pig's head (about 6500 g is best)
1
Soy sauce
250 g
Rock sugar
500 g
Ginger slices
50 g
Star anise (in spice bag)
15 g
Scented tea leaves
10 g
Shaoxing wine
1000 g
Aromatic vinegar
200 g
Scallion knots
100 g
Cinnamon bark (in spice bag)
25 g
Fennel seeds (in spice bag)
10 g
Instructions
1
Ingredient Preparation and Blanching
Pluck the hairs from the pig's head clean, then scrape it thoroughly. With the face facing down, split the head down the middle from the back, remove the bone and brain, and soak for two hours to rinse away any blood. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook for about 20 minutes, then take out. Scrape the eyelashes clean, scoop out the eyeballs, cut off the ears, slice off the two cheek meats and the snout, remove the lymph nodes, and scrape off the tongue membrane.
2
Boiling
Put the eyes, ears, cheeks, tongue, and head meat together in a pot, cover with plenty of clear water, and bring to a rolling boil twice on high heat, about 20 minutes each time, until seven-tenths cooked, then remove. Place the cinnamon bark, star anise, and fennel seeds into a cheesecloth pouch and tie it shut.
3
Braising
Line the bottom of the pot with a bamboo rack, spread the ginger slices and scallion knots on top, arrange all parts of the pig head, then add the rock sugar, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, aromatic vinegar, spice pouch, and clear water (enough to cover the pig head). Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce to low heat and braise for about 2 hours, until the broth is thick and the meat is falling apart.
4
Plating and Shaping
Place the pig tongue in the center of a large round platter, lay the head meat over it facing up, and position the cheek meat, ears, and eyeballs in their original anatomical places so it resembles a whole pig's head. Spoon over some of the original braising liquid and garnish with cilantro leaves to finish.
