Jinhua Sliced Ham
A Hangzhou cold appetizer made primarily with Jinhua ham, featuring a rosy red color and paper-thin slices.
Ingredients
Jinhua ham (skin removed, boned)
to taste
Instructions
1
Pre-treatment and Pressing
First, clean the ham with alkaline water to remove dirt, rinse thoroughly with clean water, trim off the ham's trotters and hock, place it in a pot with the skin side up, add water to fully submerge the ham, bring to a medium heat and simmer for 1.5 hours. When the knuckle bone and shin bone separate, remove the ham and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then slice off the greasy edge meat on the surface, remove all tendons and bones, flip the ham over (skin side up) and lay it flat on a plate, press it with a heavy object to make the meat firm, evenly compacted and tender.
2
Slicing and Plating
When serving, trim the edges and corners of the pressed ham, cut the four sides straight, then cut it into 5 cm wide, 2 cm thick pieces (lean meat portion 1.6 cm thick, fatty meat portion 3.3 cm thick), then slice into 48 thin slices each 5 cm long and 1 mm thick. Take a round plate, first place 8 ham slices and the trimmed leftover ham scraps as the base, then place 16 slices along both sides, and the remaining 24 slices supported by a knife on top, forming an arch shape. Place washed coriander leaves on both sides of the arch opening to finish.
