La rou (腊肉, literally wax meat — so called because the curing and smoking process gives the meat a waxy appearance) is the traditional cured and smoked pork of Hunan province, made during the winter months (December-January, the la month of the Chinese agricultural calendar, the 12th month). Pork belly, pork leg, and sometimes whole sides of pork are dry-cured with salt, sugar, Sichuan peppercorns, and Shaoxing wine, then hung and smoked over fragrant wood and grain husks (traditional Hunan smoking uses cypress branches, rice husks, and orange peel) for 2-3 weeks. The resulting la rou has an intense smoked, salty, slightly sweet flavour with a firm, slightly dry texture that becomes tender and juicy when steamed or stir-fried.
The cure: 1kg pork belly. Dry cure: 30g salt, 20g sugar, 10g Sichuan peppercorns (toasted and coarsely ground), 5g Chinese five spice, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce. Rub the cure into every surface of the pork. Refrigerate 5-7 days, turning daily. The smoking: Hang the cured pork in a well-ventilated cool space over a smouldering fire of sawdust, rice husks, and fragrant wood. Traditional Hunan smoking is a cold-smoke technique — the pork hangs well above the smoke source and the smoking temperature should be below 30C. Smoke for 2-3 weeks. Using la rou in cooking: La rou is typically stir-fried with fresh vegetables — garlic shoots (qing suan miao), dried chillis, douchi. It is also steamed with preserved dried vegetables (mei cai or gan doujiao) — a classic Hunan preparation. Before cooking, the la rou may need brief soaking in cold water (20-30 minutes) to reduce excess saltiness.
Fuchsia Dunlop, Every Grain of Rice (2012)