Stir-Fried Cured Pork with Fermented Chilli Meal 渣广椒炒腊肉

How it is made

The Shennongjia Geopark describes zha guangjiao as a Tujia dish made mostly after the White Dew (白露) solar term: fresh red chillies are washed and chopped, mixed with cornmeal and salt, and braised or steamed before being stir-fried. Wikipedia, which writes the first syllable with a different character (榨广椒) and treats the relish as a speciality of Yichang (宜昌), describes a version of dried red chillies chopped and mixed with cornmeal, Sichuan pepper, fresh ginger, garlic and salt, then pressed into a jar and sealed the way pickles are made. Some modern makers use rice flour instead of cornmeal.

Shennongjia's cured pork is smoked over firewood, citrus peel and sweet wormwood (香蒿); it turns golden or black and has firm meat with a deep smoky flavour.

Flavour and texture

The relish is reddish, with a distinctive sour and spicy taste. The Geopark notes that stir-frying it with home-cured pork makes it more appetising.

Where it comes from

Western Hubei was once short of salt, and Tujia families used the chilli relish as a seasoning and took it on journeys as a side dish. Today it mostly goes with meat: stir-fried with cured pork or with pig's intestines, it is a common home dish in western Hubei.