LOCAL FOOD GUIDE

Grilled Pork Brain 烤脑花

Kao Naohua

Grilled Pork Brain is featured among the local specialties of Chongqing.

AI illustration: A stylized welcoming Chinese dining table seen slightly from above.
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）AI-generated visual reference; not a restaurant photograph. AI 示意图，仅供参考，非实拍。

Grilled Pork Brain (烤脑花) is a Chongqing barbecue dish: a whole pig's brain, dressed with a thick sauce, garlic, chillies and herbs, grilled and eaten soft.

How it is made

A 2021 food feature by the Wansheng Economic and Technological Development Zone administration (万盛经开区管委会) describes the version served at the Wansheng branch of Jiucun Grilled Brain Barbecue (九村烤脑花烧烤), a grill shop named after the dish. It starts as a bowl holding a fresh, tender pig's brain left whole. The brain is covered with a thick, rich sauce, mixed with minced garlic, small hot xiaomi chillies (小米椒), chopped spring onion, coriander and other seasonings, and then grilled.

Flavour and texture

The same feature describes a deep, rounded aroma that is savoury without being greasy. Touched lightly with chopsticks, the cooked brain still has some spring to it. In the mouth it is fragrant, tender and soft; the chilli oil hits first, and then the aroma of the fat and a fresh sweetness slowly spread through the whole mouth.

AI illustration: Cooked pork brain in a small tray with chili sauce and herbs.
AI illustration · AI 示意图（菜式参考，非实拍） · 烤脑花 — A general serving example; recipes and presentation vary.

China Revealed · Editorially updated 2026-09-23

Sources & reading

Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-23. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.