Zhenjiang Yao Rou (Crystal Cured Pork)
A classic specialty from Zhenjiang, also known as Crystal Yao Ti, with alternating red and white layers of pork set in a clear, crystal-like aspic.
Ingredients
pork front legs (scraped clean, deboned)
10
coarse salt (400 g for curing, 400 g for cooking)
1350 g
nitre brine (for curing)
300 g
alum (used in two batches)
3 g
Shaoxing wine
50 g
ginger slices (placed in a cloth bag)
12.5 g
star anise (placed in a cloth bag)
10 g
scallion segments (placed in a cloth bag)
25 g
Sichuan peppercorns (placed in a cloth bag)
10 g
Instructions
1
Curing
Scrape the pork front legs clean, slice each one open lengthwise with a knife (keeping the cut even), and remove the bone (for hind legs, also pull out the tendon). Place the meat skin-side down on a cutting board and use an iron skewer to poke small holes throughout the lean flesh. Sprinkle nitre brine evenly over each piece, then rub in coarse salt thoroughly. Lay the pieces flat in a jar to cure (the salt quantity and curing time vary with the season: in summer, use 125 g of salt per leg and cure for 6–8 hours; in winter, use 95 g and cure for 7 days; in spring and fall, use 110 g and cure for 3–4 hours). Afterward, soak in cold water for 8 hours (skip in summer) to remove the astringent taste, scrape off any residue from the skin, and rinse well with warm water.
2
Cooking
Place the scallion segments and ginger slices into one cloth bag, and the Sichuan peppercorns and star anise into another, then tie the openings securely. Pour 5000 g of cold water into a large pot, add 400 g of coarse salt and 1.5 g of alum, and bring to a rolling boil. Skim off the foam. Add the pork legs to the pot (skin-side up, layered one above another, with the topmost leg skin-side down), bring back to a boil, and skim the foam again. Drop in the scallion-ginger bag and the spice bag, pour in the Shaoxing wine, cover with a bamboo rack, and set a clean heavy object on top to weigh down the meat. Simmer gently for about 1.5 hours (maintaining a bare boil), then flip the pork so all pieces are skin-side up and continue cooking until nearly tender (about 3 more hours). Lift the meat out, remove both cloth bags, and reserve the broth.
3
Setting
Prepare 5 shallow pans about 40 cm in diameter and 4 cm deep. Lay 2 pork legs in each pan (skin-side down), stack the 5 pans on top of one another, and place an empty pan on the very top. After 20 minutes, move each pan to the edge of the cooking pot and ladle some of the original broth over the meat to rinse the oily juices from the pan, then pour the rinsings back into the pot.
4
Finishing
Bring the broth in the pot to a boil, skim off the surface oil, add the remaining 1.5 g of alum and about 250 g of fresh water, and bring back to a boil. Skim the oil once more. Ladle the hot broth into each pan, covering the meat, and set aside in a cool place to jell (in hot weather, let cool completely, then place in the refrigerator until set). The Crystal Yao Pork is now ready. The remaining broth becomes the master broth, which can be saved and reused for future batches.
5
Serving
To serve, slice and arrange attractively on a plate and accompany with ginger shreds and black vinegar for the best flavor.
