When it comes to the festive flavor of Chinese New Year in Chongqing, smoked cured pork (La Rou) undeniably takes center stage.
Long before New Year's Eve, as strings of glistening, golden-hued meat begin hanging from balconies and neighborhood branches, the holiday spirit instantly fills the air. Authentic Chongqing cured pork is typically crafted from well-marbled pork belly or rear leg meat. It is first thoroughly cured with salt and spices, then suspended to undergo a transformation of air-drying and slow smoking over cypress branches and firewood.
Fresh out of the pot and still piping hot, the meat is washed, boiled through, and laid on the cutting board. With swift cuts, it is sliced thin: the fatty portion turns translucent like amber, while the lean meat remains a deep, tight crimson, all wrapped in a rich, glistening rind. One bite releases a grand explosion of smoky aroma, rich savory meat, and silky render—delightfully salted and never greasy. As the rendered fat renders into soups or stir-fries, that distinct fragrance is enough to entice the entire neighborhood.
More than just a hearty meal to pair with rice, it serves as a cherished winter memory of reunion for locals. In the depth of winter, families gather around a steaming platter of sliced cured pork. A single bite brings warmth and comfort to the whole body. To the people of Chongqing, a New Year without cured pork simply isn't a New Year at all.
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