Roasted Pork Block (Kao Fang)
烤方
A traditional famous Yangzhou dish, made from the rib meat of small winter pigs from northern Jiangsu. It is prepared through repeated roasting and skin scraping, featuring crispy skin and tender, soft meat. It is served sandwiched in hollow steamed buns.
Ingredients
Pork rib strip (tender pork)
about 3000 g
Sweet bean paste (for serving)
to taste
Sichuan pepper salt (for serving)
to taste
Scallion white segments (for serving)
to taste
Hollow steamed buns (for stuffing)
to taste
Instructions
1
Preparing the Meat Block
Cut the ribs in the middle with a knife. Place the meat skin-side down on the cutting board, trim all four edges with a knife to form a rectangular block about 25.5 cm long and 19.5 cm wide. Then use a sharpened bamboo chopstick to poke many small holes in the meat surface so that hot air can escape during roasting.
2
Mounting on the Fork
Insert an iron fork between the 2nd and 6th ribs of the meat block along the bone seam. When it is about 6 cm deep, lift the fork tip and push it through the meat surface. Insert it again 6 cm away so that the fork tip comes out on the other side of the meat. Then insert two bamboo chopsticks sharpened at both ends horizontally through both sides of the pork ribs, resting them on the fork prongs so the meat block lies flat and is firmly secured on the iron fork.
3
Roasting and Scraping the Skin
Build a roasting pit about 1 m long and 60-70 cm wide with gray bricks. Light charcoal in it and burn until there are no flames and no smoke; then shape the charcoal into a concave form. Hold the fork handle level and lower the meat skin-side down into the oven. Continuously swing it for about 20 minutes until the moisture on the meat is dried out and the skin turns dark yellow, then remove from the fire. Cover the skin with a damp cloth to moisten it, scrape off the charred dirt with a knife, then roast and scrape once more using the same method. Poke small holes in the skin with a fine steel needle, then place the meat skin-side down in the oven again and roast over low heat for about 20 minutes. Scrape the skin clean, flip the meat over with the bone side down and roast evenly until the ribs shrink and the bones protrude, then remove. At this point, after 4 rounds of roasting and 3 rounds of scraping, the skin is very thin and the meat is evenly cooked through.
4
Final Roasting
Roast the meat skin-side down over low heat for half an hour, allowing the fat to seep into the skin. When you hear a sizzling sound, pull out the roasting fork and bamboo chopsticks, scrape off the charred debris on the skin and around it with a knife, and the roasted pork block is complete.
5
Slicing and Serving
First cut the skin of the roasted pork block into oblique slices about 1.5 cm long and 1.2 cm wide, then cut the meat into thin slices and arrange them on serving plates. Serve with sweet bean paste, Sichuan pepper salt, and scallion white segments on the side; stuff them into hollow steamed buns to eat.
