Malipo Chunk Meat

Malipo Chunk Meat

　　Chunk meat is the basic method used by the Yi people to prepare meat dishes.

In the 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. The chunks are then boiled in plain water until they are about 80% cooked, after which they are scooped into a winnowing basket, sprinkled with salt, and tossed back and forth until the salt penetrates. At this point, it's ready to eat. When eating, apart from adding salt, no other seasonings are used, nor are any bowls or chopsticks employed — the meat is simply picked up and eaten with the hands. It is typically served with a type of dry pickled vegetable soup made using traditional methods from the Little Liangshan region (which helps to cut through greasiness). Holding a chunk of the meat in hand, you gnaw and chew on it. Due to the unique preparation method and the fact that the meat isn’t very fatty, it becomes more fragrant the more you chew, and the more you eat, the more your appetite grows.

The trick to making great tuotuo meat lies in mastering the right heat. If the heat isn’t high enough, the meat won’t be cooked through; if it’s too long, the meat becomes mushy. Yi-style tuotuo meat is both fresh and fragrant, with a distinctive flavor — especially when made using suckling pig weighing around four or five pounds.