Pork Knuckle with Trotter Attached 带把肘子

Pork Knuckle with Trotter Attached (带把肘子) is a steamed pork dish associated with Dali (大荔) in Shaanxi (陕西). Its finished skin is date-red, while the meat is soft and tender.

Steaming the joint

In Xinhua’s account, local restaurant-association vice-chair Zuo Qinzhou (左秦州) selects a front knuckle weighing about 1.75 kg. After cutting the skin, trimming the meat and chopping the bone, he parboils it. Sauce is applied while the joint is hot, then it goes into a steaming basin with star anise, cassia and other seasonings.

From basin to banquet

To serve, the cook covers the earthenware basin with a porcelain plate, flips both together and lifts away the basin. Beneath the reddish skin, the fat is translucent; the tender pork is eaten with scallion pieces and flour sauce. The joint takes a central place in the Jiupin Shisan Hua banquet (九品十三花), which combines sweets, pastries, cold dishes, soups and steamed dishes.