Chinese Cured Pork
Zhejiang-style cured meat with a rich red color, a distinctive smoky aroma, and excellent keeping qualities.
Ingredients
pork (cut into 5 cm wide strips, poke holes)
5 kg
salt (roasted then rubbed with Sichuan pepper)
150 g
Sichuan pepper (roasted then rubbed with salt)
25 g
pine or cypress sawdust (for smoking, peanut shells can also be used)
1.5 kg
Instructions
1
Step 1
Curing. First cut the pork into 5 cm wide strips, poke multiple small holes with bamboo skewers, then rub with roasted Sichuan pepper and salt to infuse flavor. Place the strips skin-side down, meat-side up in layers inside a ceramic or enamel container (do not use metal utensils). The top layer should be placed skin-side up, meat-side down, and weighted down with heavy objects. In spring and winter, store in a non-freezing area; in summer and autumn, store in a cool place. Cure for 5 days, flipping the meat once daily. After curing, thread one end of the meat with string and hang in a well-ventilated area to dry until semi-dry.
2
Step 2
Smoking. Place the dried meat on an iron grate inside an iron pot, put sawdust at the bottom of the pot, and cover the lid. Heat the pot with fire, and use the smoke from the sawdust to smoke the meat until it takes on color. After smoking, hang in a well-ventilated area until all moisture is completely gone.
3
Step 3
Serving. Burn the skin of the smoked meat over fire until it turns yellow, then soak in warm water until soft. Scrape off the adhering dirt with a scraper, scrape off the yellow surface of the skin with a knife, then rinse once with warm water. Steam in a steamer for 50 to 60 minutes, take out, slice and serve.
