Chunky Meat

Chunky Meat

　　The Yi people have been eating chunky meat for almost as long as their culture has existed. Chunky meat can be said to be the most representative dish in Yi cuisine. As the name suggests, it involves cutting meat into chunks and boiling them. Pork, beef, mutton, and chicken can all be made into chunky meat. Among the various types, young pig chunky meat is the most famous.

Chunky meat must be cooked over high heat and never over low heat. Once the meat is cooked, it should be immediately taken out. Place it in a large basin while still hot, then mix in salt, chili, litsea cubeba, Sichuan pepper, and minced garlic until evenly coated. Making a good young pig chunky meat dish requires particular attention to ingredients, butchering, and cooking heat. The traditional method is as follows: select a young pig weighing around 20 to 30 jin (approximately 10–15 kg), slaughter and drain the blood, then lay it face down on a clean surface. Soak the whole pig in clean water, cover it with dried thistle grass, and then set it on fire. At the right time, use a wooden roller to remove the ash, then scrape the pig’s body with a scraper or knife. Once the skin is soaked and roasted, scraping will remove both hair and dirt. Then roast the entire body with thistle grass again until it turns yellowish-brown and crispy, scrape and wash it clean once more, then cut it open and chop the meat into 2-inch cubes, finally boil it in cold water. This is how chunky meat is prepared. Additionally, the Yi people emphasize pairing main staples with meat dishes—for example, pork with rice, mutton with buckwheat rice, chicken with oats, and so on.