Qianshan Doumu Pottery Red-Braised Pork 潜山痘姆古陶红烧肉

Qianshan Doumu Pottery Red-Braised Pork (潜山痘姆古陶红烧肉) is red-braised pork belly cooked in Doumu (痘姆) earthenware, a dish of Qianshan (潜山) in Anqing (安庆), southwestern Anhui, the home of Mount Tianzhu (天柱山). On its 2024 rural food routes, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism names it as a dish visitors can taste in Qianshan, cooked with Doumu pottery as the vessel.

How it is made

According to Anhui News (中安在线), the cook uses pork belly and simmers it slowly in a Doumu pottery vessel over a wood fire for several hours, until the meat is falling-apart tender and carries a strong soy-sauce aroma.

Flavour and texture

The finished pork is glossy and soft. Anhui News describes it as melting in the mouth, rich but not greasy, with a deep meaty smell that rises as soon as the lid comes off the pot.

Where it comes from

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism route page on southern Anhui food gives Doumu pottery a history of more than 6,000 years and notes that the Doumu pottery firing technique (痘姆陶器烧制技艺) is a national-level intangible cultural heritage item. It says local people habitually cook their dishes in old-style earthenware, and that Su Dongpo (苏东坡) and Huang Tingjian (黄庭坚) tasted the pork on their travels here and praised it. The same route lists the Doumu pottery intangible-heritage training base, where visitors can try potting.