Sichuan Cured Pork (Larou)
Traditional Sichuan cured meat, prepared by salting and smoking. It has a deep reddish hue and a rich smoky aroma.
Ingredients
pork (cut into strips and poked)
5000 g
refined salt (dry-roasted until hot)
200 g
five-spice powder
30 g
cooking wine
100 g
sugar
50 g
pine and cypress sawdust
500 g
Instructions
1
Curing
Dry-roast the salt until hot, then mix it evenly with the five-spice powder and let it cool. Stir in the cooking wine and sugar to combine. Rub the mixture thoroughly over the meat and skin, then arrange the pieces skin-side down in a crock, placing the top layer skin-side up. Cure for about 7 days, turning the contents of the crock once midway.
2
Hanging to Dry
Remove the cured meat, rinse it clean with warm water, thread it with hemp twine, and hang it in a well-ventilated place to air-dry until the surface moisture is gone.
3
Smoking
In a large iron wok, place the pine and cypress sawdust at the bottom, set a rack on top, lay the meat on the rack, cover the wok tightly with its lid, and smoke over a fire. Once the surface is evenly colored, remove the meat and hang it in a ventilated spot until all moisture has dried out.
4
Serving
Hold the cured meat over an open flame to singe the skin until it puffs up with oil bubbles, then scrape it clean with warm water to remove the blackened skin and ash. Rinse once more with warm water, steam until fully cooked, remove, and serve sliced.
