P
Chinese · Jinan, Shandong Province
Shandong Braised Pork Intestines (Jiu Zhuan Da Chang)
Jiu zhuan da chang (九转大肠) — nine-turn large intestines — is Shandong's most technically demanding offal dish: pork large intestine is cleaned, blanched, deep-fried, then braised in a complex spiced sauce with soy, vinegar, sugar, and five spice. The intestine's outer surface crisps during frying while the interior becomes bouncy and tender. Named for the nine steps of transformation required.
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I
The Market List
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800 g
pork large intestine
cleaned weight after initial trimming
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For cleaning
60 g
coarse salt
for scrubbing
Your own market
60 g
plain flour
for scrubbing
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For blanching
30 g
60 ml
Shaoxing wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For deep-frying
1 litre
neutral oil
for deep-frying
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the braise
60 ml
soy sauce
30 ml
Chinese black vinegar
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
20 g
sugar
Your own market
1 tsp
five-spice powder
used sparingly — background only
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
250 ml
water or light stock
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Turn the intestines inside out. Sprinkle generously with coarse salt and plain flour and scrub thoroughly with the hands, working in batches. Rinse under cold running water. Repeat the salt-and-flour scrub a second time, then rinse again. The intestine is clean when it carries no detectable offal odour.
2
Place the cleaned intestines in a pot of cold water. Bring to a rolling boil. Drain and discard the water. Repeat with fresh cold water, adding the sliced ginger and Shaoxing wine to the second blanching pass. Boil for 10 minutes, then drain. The water drawn off at each pass should run progressively cleaner and clearer.
3
Cut the blanched intestines into sections of approximately 5–6 cm. Heat the neutral oil to 180 °C in a wok or deep vessel. Fry the intestine sections for 3–4 minutes, turning as needed. This is where the dish lives or dies: the exterior must emerge deeply golden and distinctly crisp to the touch before braising begins; under-frying at this stage cannot be corrected in the braise.
4
Remove the fried intestine sections and drain on a rack. Drain the wok of frying oil, leaving a film. Return the wok to medium heat. Add the soy sauce, black vinegar, sugar, and five-spice powder, stirring to combine. Add the water or light stock and bring to a simmer.
From the canon — The carbon-steel wok is the fundamental tool of Chinese cooking — not merely a frying pan but a cooking instrument whose specific properties (extreme thermal… The Wok: Seasoning, Maintenance, and Heat Management →
5
Add the fried intestine sections to the braising liquid. Reduce the heat to low. Braise uncovered for 30–40 minutes, turning the pieces occasionally, until the sauce has reduced to a concentrated, glossy coat. The intestine interior should be bouncy and yielding when pressed, while the braised exterior remains distinct from the tender inner flesh.
6
Taste the finished sauce: the sweet note of the sugar, the sour edge of the vinegar, and the depth of the soy should each be perceptible without any single element dominating. The five-spice should register as warmth in the background only. Adjust if required, then transfer to a serving dish.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Freshly sourced pork intestine from a whole-animal butcher, pre-ordered and collected on the day; cleaned to absolute odourlessness by the cook's own hand using the repeated salt-and-flour method.
02
Estate — Good-quality pork intestine from a Chinese butcher or specialist market, purchased on the day of cooking; cleaned with equal rigour.
03
Market — Pre-cleaned or par-cleaned intestine from a Chinese supermarket; verify that no residual odour remains and repeat the salt-and-flour scrub regardless.
04
House — Pre-blanched frozen intestine sections; thaw fully, re-scrub, and proceed from the deep-frying step — acceptable for a first attempt but the texture of the interior will be less defined.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. After each cleaning pass, the intestine should carry no detectable offal odour; continue scrubbing until this standard is met.
◇Sight. The water from successive blanching passes runs progressively clearer, indicating the removal of successive layers of impurity.
◇Sight. The fried sections are a deep, even golden-brown across the entire surface before they are lifted from the oil.
◇Touch. The finished braised sections are bouncy and yielding when pressed with a chopstick or spoon — firm but not rubbery, tender but not collapsed.
◇Sight. The braising sauce at completion coats the back of a spoon in a glossy, concentrated film rather than pooling as a thin liquid.
◇Where it lives or dies. The intestine sections must emerge from the oil deeply golden and crisply firm before braising; no subsequent step can recover a surface that was insufficiently fried.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
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