New Hunan Smoked Pork
Hunan cured smoked pork (larou) is a traditional preserved meat made by salting and smoking pork belly over pine and tea branches. The resulting meat has an intense smoky flavor and beautiful amber color.
Ingredients
- Cured meat 200 g
- Garlic scapes 300 g
- Cooking oil to taste
- Salt to taste
- Cooking wine 1 tbsp
- Ginger 2 slices
Instructions
- 1. Wash the bacon, marinate with seasonings for 30 minutes
- 2. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and add Hunan bacon
- 3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
- 4. Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes
- 5. Take it out halfway and brush it with a layer of marinade.
- 6. Bake until the surface is golden brown and then take it out of the oven
Cultural Notes
Hunan larou has been made for over 2,000 years and is one of the most important preserved foods in Hunan cuisine. Every rural Hunan family traditionally makes larou during the twelfth lunar month (December), hanging the smoked pork from kitchen rafters above the wood-fired stove. The constant gentle smoke from daily cooking preserves the meat while infusing it with complex aromas. The three-step process of salting, air-drying, and smoking creates a product with extraordinary depth of flavor. Hunan larou is used in countless dishes — stir-fried with garlic shoots, steamed, or cooked with bamboo shoots.