Fule Crispy Pork

Fule Crispy Pork

　　Fule Crispy Pork has gained widespread fame for two main reasons: its authenticity and its exquisite preparation process. The dish is typically made on the evening when the village butchers the New Year’s pig. During dinner, everyone leaves a bit of room in their stomachs. After the meal, the hearth fire is stoked to a roaring blaze, a large iron pot is set up, and a pork leg is chopped up. The fat is first trimmed off to render lard, then ingredients such as honey, ginger juice, scallion juice, eggs, pepper, and star anise powder are mixed together. Next, using a strainer, spoonfuls of the mixture are carefully ladled into the boiling oil. Once the pork turns a deep date-brown color, it is fished out. When you pick up a piece and chew it slowly, the flavor bursts into every corner of your mouth—it’s utterly delicious. Paired with a bowl of strong white liquor, it’s nothing short of heavenly. Generally, during the bustling winter season when pigs are butchered, everyone in the village knows as soon as someone starts making crispy pork, because the aroma wafts through the entire sky. People simply follow the smell and effortlessly find the source.

The preservation technique used for Fule Crispy Pork is also unique. The cooked pork is solidified in lard, and even if it is kept for three to five years, its color, aroma, and taste remain completely unchanged. Noodles cooked in the broth of Fule Crispy Pork are incredibly savory and exquisitely fragrant.

In most places, crispy pork is coated with flour, turning it into something resembling a dough ball—resulting in a rather odd texture and taste. Fule Crispy Pork is different; it is the genuine article, the true originator of crispy pork.

When traveling to Luoping, be sure to try Fule Crispy Pork if you get the chance. There are several Fule-flavor restaurants in downtown Luoping, and you can enjoy authentic Fule Crispy Pork at any of them.