Guilin Lotus Leaf Steamed Glutinous Pork

Guilin Lotus Leaf Steamed Glutinous Pork

　　Lotus Leaf Steamed Glutinous Pork is a traditional local festive dish of Guilin. Made with pork belly with skin, mung beans, lotus leaves, Guilin fermented tofu, and green garlic, the dish involves boiling the pork belly, coating it with sauce, deep-frying, dipping it in mung bean powder, wrapping it in lotus leaves to form sealed packets, arranging them on a plate, and steaming them over high heat until cooked. Its characteristics include: a greenish-yellow color, the refreshing fragrance of lotus leaves, soft and delicious texture, rich but not greasy. It is believed to have health benefits such as clearing heat and toxins, harmonizing internal organs, aiding spleen and appetite, and reducing cholesterol.

　　Ingredients:

　　Main ingredient: 600g pork ribs (pork belly)

　　Side ingredients: 50g lotus leaves, 100g glutinous rice, 100g indica rice

　　Seasonings: 30g scallions, 30g ginger, 1g sand ginger, 1g cinnamon, 1g star anise, 1g clove, 50g sweet bean paste, 30g yellow wine, 30g soy sauce, 15g white sugar

　　How to make Lotus Leaf Steamed Glutinous Pork:

　　 1. Rinse the glutinous rice and indica rice clean, then drain and dry them;

　　2. Put the star anise, sand ginger, clove, and cinnamon together with the rice into a pot, stir-fry over low heat until yellowish, let cool, then grind into powder;

　　3. Remove fine hairs from the pork skin, wash, and cut into 10 evenly sized rectangular pieces about 6.5cm long (each piece weighing about 60g), and make one slit in the middle of each piece;

　　4. Place the pork pieces in a clay pot, add sweet bean paste, soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, scallion strips, and ginger strips, stir and marinate for about 1 hour to allow the flavors to penetrate the meat, then mix in the rice flour;

　　5. Briefly blanch the lotus leaves in boiling water, cut each leaf into four pieces, wrap the meat pieces into small square packets, and steam them over high heat for about 2 hours to finish.