Shanxi Pork Knuckle

Shanxi Pork Knuckle

　　The pork knuckle, also known as pig’s trotter or hock, was historically referred to as “Zhi Jian” (pork shoulder). The earliest recorded figure to enjoy pork knuckle was Fan Kuai. During the Feast at Hongmen, “Xiang Yu, sword in hand and kneeling on one knee, asked, ‘Who are you, sir?’ Zhang Liang replied, ‘He is Fan Kuai, the attendant charioteer of Liu Bang.’ Xiang Yu said, ‘A brave man indeed—bring him a goblet of wine!’ A large goblet of wine was then presented to Fan Kuai. He bowed in thanks, rose, stood, and drank it down. Xiang Yu said, ‘Bring him a pork shoulder!’ So a raw pork shoulder was brought. Fan Kuai laid his shield on the ground, placed the pork shoulder on it, drew his sword, sliced it up, and ate it” (from Records of the Grand Historian). From this comes the idiom “a goblet of wine and a pork shoulder,” used to describe someone with the heroic spirit of a warrior.

　　 Compared to eating a raw pork shoulder, 2,200 years later, people in Shanxi prepare the pork knuckle through multiple cooking steps such as boiling, frying, and steaming. Moreover, from northern Shanxi to southern Shanxi, preparation methods vary and eating styles differ, giving rise to a variety of banquet delicacies such as Knuckle with Handle, Dry-Braised Pork Knuckle, Scorched Fur Pork Knuckle, Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckle, Tiger Skin Pork Knuckle, Sugar Braised Pork Knuckle, Red Braised Pork Knuckle, Muddled Pork Knuckle, and Soy-Braised Pork Knuckle.

　　 Among these, Knuckle with Handle, most famously made in Wanrong in southern Shanxi, has origins in Datong according to legend. It is said that during the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, an inspecting official visited Datong Prefecture and summoned the renowned chef Li Yushan to cook for him. Unexpectedly, the prefecture’s steward bought a pile of bone-in pork knuckles to challenge him. If he peeled off the skin and removed the bones, the meat would be uneven and difficult to cook into a dish; if he cooked it whole, it would be time-consuming and laborious. Li Yushan had a flash of inspiration and created a pork knuckle dish with meat on top and bone underneath. When the inspector asked what the dish was, Li Yushan replied, “The meat holds the leg bone, resembling a handle—let’s call it Knuckle with Handle.” The inspector understood the meaning, rewarded him with ten taels of silver, investigated the steward’s misdeeds in secret, and severely punished him. Later, the Knuckle with Handle spread to Wanrong, where it was refined into a southern Shanxi folk dish—bright red, round-shaped, rich but not greasy, delicious and mellow. It became a beloved, affordable treat that locals never tired of.

　　 In central Shanxi, a similarly popular dish is Dry-Braised Pork Knuckle, also known as Cao Family Pork Knuckle because it originated from the Cao family in Taigu. The Cao family of Taigu were wealthy merchants since the Ming and Qing dynasties, especially in the late Qing when their banking business “Yongtong Wu” was famed across central Shanxi and praised even in southern China. A widely circulated folk rhyme goes, “Heaven has immortal palaces, Earth has Yongtong Wu,” illustrating the Cao family’s immense wealth and luxurious lifestyle. According to Notable Dishes and Their Origins, chefs racked their brains to vary flavors and please their master. One day, a chef hastily prepared a pork knuckle without adding broth and served it with two pieces of flatbread. To everyone’s surprise, the master loved it. Later, this broth-less pork knuckle dish came to be known as “Dry-Braised Pork Knuckle,” where small pieces of fried pork knuckle meat are sprinkled with salt and pepper and served with baked flatbread. Before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, restaurants in Taigu such as Longshengchang and Deshengyuan gained fame for their “two-flatbread Dry-Braised Pork Knuckle.”

　　 Generally, an important step in making pork knuckle is frying followed by steaming, and finally pouring on broth. If instead the steamed pork knuckle is topped with a thick sauce made from water, honey, and crystal sugar, it becomes the Shanxi specialty Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckle. This dish emphasizes precise heat control, resulting in a bright reddish, translucent color and a sweet yet not cloying taste. However, in some Shanxi folk versions, the pork knuckle is steamed without frying, resulting in a dish called Muddled Pork Knuckle, which has a savory flavor with smoky undertones, offering yet another unique taste.

　　 Where does that smoky flavor come from? It’s produced when the hairless pork knuckle is skewered early in processing, placed skin-side down over a flame to scorch until the skin is charred. Then it is soaked in hot water until softened, the charred skin scraped off with a small knife, and the piece boiled until about 70% cooked. By this stage, the smoky flavor has penetrated the meat, and if it is not fried after boiling, the smoky essence remains. In the Changzhi area, there is an even more distinctive method: the deboned pork knuckle is directly skewered and placed over a smokeless, fierce flame to singe the hair and repeatedly roast until blackened. Then it is soaked in warm water, the blackened parts scraped off, rinsed clean, skipped the boiling step, and instead fried before being steamed with sauce. The result is extremely delicious and is known as “Scorched Fur Pork Knuckle,” one of the “Ten Bowls Feast” dishes of Changzhi. In the past, regardless of wealth, this dish was served at weddings, and some also call it Shangdang Muddled Pork Knuckle.

　　 Combining the best features of both Scorched Fur Pork Knuckle and Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckle is the traditional Shanxi delicacy Tiger Skin Pork Knuckle, named for its tiger-striped appearance. According to Notable Special Dishes, it won first prize in a cooking competition in 1987 and was hailed as a premium delicacy for high-end Shanxi banquets. Some versions are even garnished with a border of fried wontons, earning the name Wonton-Tiger Skin Pork Knuckle. In addition, other Shanxi pork knuckle dishes such as Lotus Seed Sugar Braised Pork Knuckle and Sea Cucumber Braised Pork Knuckle are also culinary masterpieces. At Taiyuan’s Quanjin Guild Hall, an innovative take on traditional pork knuckle techniques is “Hometown Jar Pork,” where the pork knuckle is honey-marinated, fried, deboned, and cut into diamond-shaped pieces with the skin left uncut to maintain shape. These are then steamed in a jar with a broth made from ham and other ingredients until tender, resulting in juicy, aromatic meat with a brilliantly creative presentation. During the Qing Dynasty, pork knuckle entered the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, often paired with ham—hot dishes included Ham-Stewed Pork Knuckle, while cold dishes featured Golden-Silver Pork (half ham, half pork knuckle).

　　 As for refined and exquisite ways to enjoy it beyond the basics, Taiyuan’s Soy-Braised Pork Knuckle Roll deserves special mention. This dish can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty imperial delicacy “Entwined Flower Cloud-Dream Meat.” The Banquet Menu of the Imperial Feast describes its preparation as “rolled and pressed,” and China’s Imperial Cuisine Through the Ages interprets it as “rolling the meat and pressing it down with weight”—concluding it refers to rolled pig’s trotters, or in the north, soy-braised pork knuckle rolls. The soy-braised pork knuckle made by Taiyuan’s Liuwaisei was tribute during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. After liberation, the technique was further refined, and in 1988 it was recognized as a ministry-level quality product. Served thinly sliced against the grain, dipped in seasoning or served cold mixed, it remains especially beloved by Taiyuan locals.

　　 With its diverse preparation methods, delicious flavors, great renown, and frequent use in banquets, the two-thousand-year-old heroic image of “a goblet of wine and a pork shoulder” has, in today’s pork knuckle feasts and toasts, transformed into an atmosphere full of warmth, friendship, and love.