Sweet, sour, and salty pork trotters and soup you must never touch the bowl of — Guangzhou chef Chen Guolong showcases creativity

▲Soup that you must not touch the bowl of, crafted with meticulous care.

Reported and photographed by Xiao Wanning / Taipei

Taipei Far Eastern Shangri-La’s Michelin-recommended Xiang Palace, famed for Cantonese cuisine, invitedChen Guoxiongto helm the kitchen from April 2 to April 11. His signature dishes include Baiyun-style Pork Trotters, Soy Sauce Duck Tongue, Abalone, Whelk, and Scallops Stewed with Matsutake, Golden Crab Sauce King Prawns, and Wild Grouper in Hometown Style.

▲Diverse dishes and abundant choices.

Cantonese cuisine is one of the representatives of Yue cuisine, alongside Huaiyang, Shandong, and Sichuan cuisines, known as the Four Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine. It features a wide range of ingredients, diverse cooking styles and techniques, and rich, varied flavors. It is especially known for its stir-frying, braising, steaming, and deep-frying methods, delivering freshness, tenderness, and umami. This time, the restaurant presents 13 classic Cantonese dishes, allowing diners to enjoy a variety of Cantonese flavors at affordable prices.

▲Sweet, sour, and salty pork trotters with a long history.

The appetizer “Baiyun-style Pork Trotters” is one of Guangzhou’s historic famous dishes. It uses the foreleg meat of the pig, which is cleaned, deboned, and cut into pieces. First blanched in a simmering water with scallions and ginger, then boiled in white vinegar. After cooling, it is soaked in a homemade brine of sugar, salt, white vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns, and pickled chilies, then refrigerated for five hours. The result is spicy with tanginess, tangy with sweetness, offering a gelatinous texture that is rich yet not greasy.

▲The soup you must not touch the bowl of, made with premium ingredients and bursting with flavor.

The soup dish “Abalone, Whelk, and Scallops Stewed with Matsutake” involves mincing warm fresh pork shin meat, shaping it into balls with a pinch of salt, and placing them in a bowl filled with clear broth. The surface is then poked to create a honeycomb pattern — at this stage, you must never touch the bowl to preserve the sweetness of the meatballs. The meatballs are then braised until they turn a tender pink, and cooked together with abalone, whelk, and king oyster mushrooms. The naturally sweet pork and the umami-rich seafood create a rich yet non-greasy flavor.

▲Guest chef Chen Guoxiong.