Roast suckling pig is the most famous specialty of Guangdong. It belongs to Cantonese cuisine and is one of the main dishes in the “Manchu-Han Banquet”. As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, this dish was listed as one of the “Eight Delicacies”, and it was called “Pao Tu” at that time.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Jia Sixie had recorded roast suckling pig as an important culinary technology achievement in “Qimin Yaoshu”. He wrote: “It is the same color as amber, and it is also like real gold. It melts when you put it in your mouth. It is strong like snow, and it is smooth and moist. It is unique and extraordinary.” More than 1,400 years ago, the Chinese Han working people had such a high level of culinary skills, which really amazed the world.
Roast suckling pig has also been one of the offerings for Guangdong people to worship their ancestors for many years. It is an indispensable festival item for every family. After offering the suckling pig to the ancestors, relatives will have a meal together.
Development history:
In China, it was listed as one of the “Eight Delicacies” as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it was called “Pao Tu” at that time. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Jia Sixie had recorded roast suckling pig as an important culinary achievement in “Qimin Yaoshu”. He wrote: “It is the same color as amber, and it is like real gold. It melts in your mouth, and it is as strong as snow. It is smooth and moist, and it is unique and extraordinary.” More than 1,400 years ago, my country’s cooking skills had such a high level of attainment, which really amazed the world.
After roast suckling pig was introduced from the Central Plains to Guangdong, Cantonese chefs used charcoal as fuel and made careful improvements, making the Cantonese roast suckling pig unique in flavor and gradually becoming a classic of roast suckling pig. In order to make the suckling pig sweet and fragrant, Guangdong chefs created the “three tricks” of pickling. The first is to apply spices to the cavity, that is, to apply high-quality spices to the inner cavity of the suckling pig; the second is to drizzle the body with sugar water, that is, to boil sugar water with rock sugar and drizzle it all over the suckling pig; the third is to brush the skin with thick sauce, that is, to make sauce with Cantonese sauces such as Zhuhou sauce and Nanru, and evenly apply it on the pig skin. When grilling, the “three-step grilling” is adopted. First, the whole pig is grilled on low heat for 15 minutes, then the head and arms are grilled for 10 minutes, and the pig skin is coated with peanut oil and the pig body is grilled for 30 minutes. In addition to the grilling skills, the knife skills when serving the pig on the plate are also very skillful. The chef cuts the whole pig horizontally at the back under the ear and the back of the tail, dividing it into two pieces, and cuts four strips in the middle line of each piece, removes the skin with a knife, and cuts each strip into 8 pieces, a total of 32 pieces, and serves them on the plate.
During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, roasted suckling pig was a famous court dish and became a main dish in the “Man Han Banquet”. With the popularity of the “Man Han Banquet”, roasted suckling pig has spread all over the country. In Guangzhou, roasted suckling pig has been popular in the catering industry for a long time and is deeply favored by diners.
Made with suckling pig as the main ingredient, it should be considered “highbrow” in the old Beijing cuisine and is a famous dish eaten by high-ranking officials and wealthy gentry at banquets in the court. Later, it spread to various places and is also the most famous specialty of Guangzhou. Among the Guangdong barbecues that are well-known both at home and abroad, this dish can be called a must-have.
Roasted suckling pig has been the highlight of Guangdong people’s ancestor worship for many years. It is almost an indispensable festival item for every family. After offering the ancestors with suckling pigs, relatives gather together for a big meal. Before Qingming Festival, hotels and hotels all over Guangdong have used roasted suckling pigs as a major sign for the sale of Qingming offerings, and advertised them at the door. The suckling pigs are roasted to a golden brown, which is the most tempting offering in the ancestor worship ceremony. During the Qingming Festival, a somewhat famous restaurant can sell hundreds of roasted pigs, and each suckling pig generally weighs about 2 to 5 kilograms. At this time of year, pig farms in various places have piglets specially provided to various restaurants for making roasted pigs.
Ingredients:
One suckling piglet (3000g), 200g salt, 100g sugar, 5g star anise powder, 10g five-spice powder, 25g fermented bean curd, 25g sesame paste, 50g sugar, 5g garlic, 25g cornstarch, 7g Fenjiu, and appropriate amount of sugar water.
Features of the dish:
Red color, complete shape, crispy skin and tender meat, fat but not greasy, fresh and tender, and fragrant. The roasting method was recorded as early as the “Book of Rites” written before the BC. In the Zhou Dynasty, roasted pig (roasted pig) was one of the “eight delicacies”. Until the demise of the Qing Dynasty, roasted whole pig was still the “top quality” in the palace banquet.
Production method:
Select ingredients → sort → marinate → set shape → scald skin → prepare crispy syrup → apply crispy syrup → roast → finished product.
(1) Select ingredients
Be sure to use special varieties, such as fragrant pigs. The weight should be between 5 and 6 kg, with a thin skin and a plump body.
(2) Preparation
After slaughtering and bleeding, removing hair and viscera according to the usual method, wash it clean. Then, split it from the inside of the buttocks along the spine, remove the fat, and remove 3 to 4 ribs and shoulder blades from the front chest. Rinse it thoroughly with clean water and drain the water. Be careful not to damage the epidermis to keep the appearance intact; the surface of the pig must be scraped and cleaned; when splitting the pig, cut from the belly and do not drag the blade too long, so that the internal organs can be dug out.
(3) Marinating
Wash the suckling pig and place it on the workbench. Rub the five-spice powder and salt into the pig’s abdominal cavity and marinate for about 30 minutes. Then mix the seasoning sauce, fermented bean curd, sesame paste, white sugar, minced garlic, minced shallot, minced onion, monosodium glutamate, cornstarch, Fenjiu and five-spice powder, apply it to the pig’s abdomen, and marinate for about 30 minutes.
(4) Shaping
Use a 40 cm long and two 13 cm long wooden strips (the long one is used as a vertical support and the short one is used as a horizontal support) to support the pig’s abdominal cavity, tie it with iron wire to shape the suckling pig, and then insert two steel forks in the front and back of the pig’s body to facilitate roasting.
(5) Scalding
Scald the supported suckling pig with 70°C hot water until the skin is hard, and then wipe off the surface moisture. Only after this step can a layer of maltose syrup be evenly applied.
(6) Prepare crispy skin syrup
In order to make the finished product uniform in color and crispy in skin, the quality of the crispy skin syrup used is very high. The specific preparation method is to put maltose in a small bowl, pour in 150 grams of boiling water, wait for it to completely dissolve, then add white wine and Zhejiang vinegar and mix well to make crispy skin syrup. When preparing, do not use too much maltose, because it contains sugar and is very easy to color when heated, causing the finished product to turn black.
(7) Apply crispy syrup
Apply crispy syrup evenly on the suckling pig skin and hang it in a ventilated place to dry the skin. The moisture on the surface of the pig skin must be wiped dry before applying the crispy syrup to ensure that it can be applied evenly; after applying, let it air dry before baking. Otherwise, the finished product will have a “speckled face” phenomenon.
(8) Baking
There are two baking methods. One is to bake in an open oven. Use an iron rectangular oven, heat the furnace red, put the suckling pig on the fork, and bake it on the fire. First bake the breast and abdomen for about 20 minutes. Then bake the breast, ribs, and other parts of the pig in turn. The whole body of the pig, especially the neck and waist, must be pierced with a needle to drain the moisture. At the same time, brush oil to wipe off or smooth the grease that seeps out from the inside and outside of the body to prevent it from flowing on the skin or meat and affecting the appearance. The second is to bake in a dark oven, using a general roast duck oven. First, heat the oven to a high temperature, place the suckling pig carcass in the oven, and roast for about 30 minutes. When the pig skin begins to change color, take it out and prick it with a needle, brush off the grease that seeps out, and then roast for another 20 to 30 minutes until it is cooked.
Regardless of the method used, it must be turned frequently during roasting to achieve a uniform color. Method of identifying maturity: observe the oil that flows out of the pig body. When it is clear and white, it proves that the suckling pig is roasted.
(9) Finished product
After taking out the roasted suckling pig, brush a layer of sesame oil on the surface while it is still hot. This is the finished product.
Taboos on eating:
Restaurants that dare to sell roasted suckling pigs are not street restaurants. They all have certain strengths, but it is not ruled out that they are not skilled enough or cut corners. The main reason is that the seasoning is not complete and the roasting is not in place. The manifestation is that the color and taste of the pig skin are not right, the pork is too old and dry, and the aroma of the seasoning is insufficient. You must also avoid eating “leftovers”. If the pig skin shrinks, becomes dull, and becomes hard when eaten, it is definitely “leftovers”.
You should be able to smell the aroma of a variety of spices. If the color is black, it means the fire is too strong, and if the color is light, it means the fire is not enough.
This is a big dish, suitable for large groups or high-end formal banquets. It is equivalent to bird’s nest and shark’s fin, and it is absolutely qualified as a main dish. If there are fewer people, you can also order “portion meals”. Although it is not as grand as a “whole pig”, there is no problem in tasting the flavor. Because it is a big dish, it is not available in ordinary restaurants. You have to go to a more “authentic” Cantonese restaurant to eat it. In most cases, you have to make a reservation in advance and be prepared for the price.
Pig skin contains a lot of collagen, which has the function of nourishing the skin. Suckling pigs are thinner and have less fat content, so the elderly can also eat it with confidence.
Legend:
One
A long time ago, one day, a family’s yard suddenly caught fire. The fire was fierce and crackling. Soon, the flames soared into the sky and burned everything in the yard. At this time, the owner of the house hurried home, and was stunned to see a ruin. Suddenly, a burst of fragrance came to his nose. The owner followed the smell and found that it was from a burnt piglet. The owner looked at the other side of the piglet, and the skin was roasted red. He tasted it again and again, and it tasted very good. He was very sad that the yard was burned, but he was relieved that he had invented a new way to eat pork. This legend originated from the article “Talking about Roasted Pigs” by Charles Lamb, a great British scholar in the 18th century.
Two
Legend has it that in ancient times there was a pig hunter who made a living by hunting wild boars. His wife gave birth to a son for him and named him Huo Di. When the son grew up a little, his parents went up the mountain to hunt pigs every day, and the son raised piglets at home. One day, Huo Di accidentally picked up a few pieces of flint, and played with them near the thatched shed where the pigs were kept. Suddenly, sparks flew, the thatched shed caught fire, and a big fire broke out. Huodi was an ignorant child who had never seen anything fun. When he saw the hut on fire, he was not afraid at all, but felt very happy. He listened to the crackling of firewood and the howling of the piglets before they were burned to death in surprise. When the pigs stopped screaming, the fire caused by Huodi also went out by itself. An unheard-of fragrance drifted from the burned ruins. What was so fragrant? Huodi picked up the debris and followed the smell. He searched around and was surprised to find that the tempting fragrance came from the piglets with charred skin and roasted meat. The tempting color and the tempting aroma had already made Huodi salivate. He couldn’t help but lift the pig leg with his hand, but was burned by the squeaking oil on the surface of the pig skin. He hurriedly licked the burned finger with his lips, but unexpectedly tasted the delicious taste.
When Huo Di’s parents came back from hunting, they saw that the pig shed had been reduced to ashes and all the piglets were burned to death. When they were about to call Huo Di to ask what happened, Huo Di presented his father with a delicious dish – a roasted suckling pig that was roasted to a bright red color and smelled delicious. Instead of blaming his son, his father jumped for joy. His son had invented a new way to eat pork! It is said that this was the first time that humans learned that animals are more delicious when cooked.
After being passed down from generation to generation, today’s roasted suckling pig has long been improved in roasting methods, and the cooking skills are very sophisticated, becoming one of the world-famous Chinese specialties.
