Sangzhi Cured Pork

Sangzhi cured pork is smoke-cured pork from Sangzhi county, made by salting the meat and then hanging it for a long time over a wood fire. The result is deep red, firm, and rich with smoky aroma.

In the mountains of western Hunan, slaughtering the New Year pig and smoking the meat is a way of storing it handed down over generations. Sangzhi, set among forests, is well suited to wood-smoke curing, and its cured pork is widely known for its pronounced flavor.

Before eating it is washed of soot and softened by boiling or steaming, then sliced and steamed plain or stir-fried with vegetables or dried greens. It is a standby at local festival tables and for welcoming guests.

Long wood-smoking gives it a distinctive aroma and a deep, mellow texture, making it a standard-bearer of western Hunan's cured-meat culture and the very taste of a mountain winter.