Naxi Roast Meat

Naxi roast meat most often uses skin-on pork belly, marinated in salt, Sichuan pepper, chilli powder and local spices before being roasted whole; the skin turns golden and crackling, the lean meat tender and juicy, the fat melting on the tongue, then cut and served with a dry chilli dip, headily aromatic.

The Naxi have long cured and roasted pork, a tradition tied to the need to keep food in the highlands and to the customs of festival hospitality. Lijiang families prepare roast meat for the New Year, weddings and funerals alike, and it has become a hallmark of the old town's night markets and inn tables, best expressing the open-handed Naxi way of hosting.

The roast is cut into thick pieces and served hot with a dry chilli-and-pepper dip, paired with a bowl of chicken-pea jelly or green soup to cut the richness; it is a staple of the night stalls around Sifang Street in the old town, all the better with local highland-barley wine.

The crackling skin, the bold marinade of pepper and chilli, and the hearty night-market way of eating it are the singular flavour of Naxi roast meat.