Heqing Blown Liver

Heqing Blown Liver

　　A common way of preparing pig liver among ethnic groups in northwestern Yunnan (such as the Bai, Yi, and Naxi peoples). The people of Heqing in Dali take it a step further by inflating fresh pig liver to its maximum using a inserted wheat stalk, then removing the stalk and steaming the inflated liver in a bamboo steamer. After cooling, the liver is sliced and mixed with cilantro, soy sauce, vinegar, chili, MSG, and salt to create a dish that is extremely refreshing and lacks the typically unpleasant taste associated with pig liver. The slices have a slight sweetness (due to the hydrolysis of liver glycogen), and the cut surface is covered with countless tiny air holes that absorb moisture like a sponge, making it incredibly delicious.

　　Blown liver is a specialty of Heqing. After the Tenth Month Festival (the 10th day of the 10th lunar month), most Bai families get busy butchering their New Year’s pigs. Before dawn, the sounds of pigs can be heard coming from the villages. These sounds carry nothing but joy. Upon hearing them, many villagers head to the homes of those butchering pigs to enjoy a hearty meal, indulging to their heart’s—and stomach’s—content.

　　But the most delicious of all is the blown liver made by the Heqing people themselves. After slaughtering the pig and opening its belly, while the liver is still warm, it is taken out from the pig’s chest cavity and the gallbladder is removed. The women have already prepared the seasonings from the day before: freshly ground hot chili powder made from bright red, crispy chilies grown in their own gardens; naturally grown local scallions; red Sichuan peppercorn powder from Dongshan in Heqing; and aged vinegar produced by a traditional local vinegar brewery. Even more noteworthy is the liquor brewed by the Heqing people themselves, which is said to use an old recipe from the Ming and Qing dynasties and was declared a famous liquor by Emperor Qianlong during his southern tour—it is Heqing Qian Liquor. Even the water used to rinse the liver comes from the pure, natural snowmelt of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

　　Impatient butchers will already have used a bicycle pump to inflate the pig liver through its windpipe while it’s still warm, stuffing it with prepared chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, finely chopped scallions, and Qian Liquor until it’s nearly full. Then they coat the outside with some refined salt and hang the puffed-up, almost chicken-like blown liver from the eaves with a thin hemp rope. After being exposed to the wind and frost of winter, when Spring Festival arrives or when friends and family come from afar, it only needs to be boiled in water for a few minutes, then served as a cold platter or salad. The flavor is so pure and exquisite that it is truly unparalleled in the world.