Chunk Meat

Chunk Meat

　　Chunk Meat

　　Chunk Meat is the basic method used by the Yi people for preparing meat.

　　In preparation, regardless of whether it's pork, beef, or mutton, after slaughtering, the meat is cut along with the bone into chunks about the size of a fist. It is then boiled in water until about 80% cooked, fished out into a winnowing basket, and sprinkled with salt before being tossed back and forth to allow the salt to penetrate. It’s ready to eat. When eating, apart from adding salt, no other seasonings are used, nor are any utensils; it is eaten directly with the hands. It is typically served with a type of dry-pickled sour vegetable soup made using traditional methods of the Little Liangshan region (which helps to cut through greasiness). The chunk meat is held in the hand, bitten into, and chewed. Due to this unique method of preparation and the fact that the meat isn’t very fatty, it becomes more fragrant the more you chew and leaves you wanting more.

　　The secret to making good chunk meat is controlling the right cooking temperature. Undercooked meat remains raw, while overcooked meat becomes mushy. The chunk meat made by the Yi people is fresh, fragrant, and has a distinctive flavor—especially when using pork from piglets weighing around four or five pounds.