Sunflower Year Meat

Sunflower Year Meat

　　Legend has it that Year Meat originated during a time of war. One year, just before New Year’s Eve, a Tujia mountain village was suddenly invaded by soldiers. The Tujia people were busy preparing their New Year’s reunion dinner when—unthinkable on such an auspicious day—they were struck by disaster. Abandoning homes and livelihoods, they fled in all directions with their children. Some who managed to escape into deep mountain caves luckily survived the ordeal, but suffered from hunger and cold. Fortunately, an elder had hastily brought out a large piece of cooked pork, which was then divided into small portions for everyone. With tears in their eyes, they managed to get through that bleak New Year. After the war subsided, to remember this painful lesson, the Tujia people began steaming several large pieces of cooked meat every New Year, as a precaution against similar disasters. Over time, this practice became a custom, and Year Meat entered the Tujia people’s Spring Festival menu.

　　　　The traditional method of making Year Meat is as follows: take an appropriate amount of pork loin, mainly fatty cuts, cut into rectangular pieces, each about three inches long and weighing between two taels and half a jin. Season with salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and other spices, then steam thoroughly together with glutinous rice or millet. The fatty meat is then arranged neatly in large bowls like stone slabs. The amber-colored meat contrasts beautifully with the snow-white glutinous rice (or golden millet), making it the centerpiece dish at Tujia festive banquets during the Spring Festival.