Lanxi, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua in central Zhejiang, boasts the preserved pork, a specially pickled local delicacy, despite the fact that Jinhua is famed for many other brands of bacons and hams.

The preserved pork of Lanxi is also known as air-dried pork. In Lanxi, there are a number of brands of the air-dried pork. My favorite is “Wheel Rock” preserved pork. The rock itself is little known to people beyond Lanxi, but the Wheel Rock Preserved Pork is a time-honored brand of Zhejiang.

Unlike Jinhua Ham which is dried by fire or smoke inside a well-designed and well operated workshop, the preserved pork of Lanxi is dried outdoors, usually under eaves, getting cured by wind, temperature and time. The meat for air-dried pork comes from sides of slaughtered pigs, with ribs removed. The meat is cut into long slices about two centimeters wide. The slices are pickled with salt commingled with the powder of Sichuan peppercorn. The slices are then wrapped up in the palm fronds before they are hanged out under eaves. After a period of time, the pork is washed to remove some salt. And then it is air-dried again. This dry-and-washing process must be repeated at least five times. This process creates an outstanding feature that distinguishes the preserved pork of Lanxi from all other bacons and hams: it is not annoyingly salty. In Lanxi, the appropriate time to pickle and air-dry pork is early November when it is relatively dry and cold. If the weather is too humid or too dry or too cold, the meat will not cure well.

According to Chen Daoxiang, the fifth-generation master of the air-dried pork of Lanxi, Lanxi boasts a full range of opportune weather advantages for preserving pork well. He says that the preserved pork of Lanxi dates back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589) and it was Shu Yuanyu (791-835), a prime minister of the Tang Dynasty and native of Lanxi, who first called the delicacy air-dried pork.

Some folk historians in Lanxi eagerly circulate a story about the preserved pork of Lanxi. According to these historians, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), enjoyed the preserved pork of Lanxi after his army of insurgents was routed and he went into hiding in Lanxi. After he founded the dynasty, he ordered the preserved pork to be shipped as tribute from Lanxi to the court every year. Many years later, Zhu Houzhao, an eight-generation grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang and the tenth emperor of the Ming, visited Lanxi and wrote a short inscription in praise of the pork his forefather loved so much. Whether the story is true or not, the pork is indisputably and charmingly delicious.  

There are many ways to cook and enjoy the Wheel Rock Preserved Pork. For some gourmets, the preserved pork of Lanxi tastes best after it is steamed for half an hour. Additionally, the steamed preserved pork gives a pleasant odor and looks nice, adding a hedonic pleasure to the deliciousness. The steamed pork can also be served with fried tofu. The delicacy is most enjoyable if it is served with a small bowl of honey. The diner can dip the pork into honey. It offers a thrilling mouth feel. The preserved pork, when cut into extremely thin slices, can be a great treat if the diner dips the slices into fine sugar. The preserved pork, if cut into chops, can go well with fried tofu, also cut into chops. The chops of winter bamboo shoot and preserved pork are a perfect mix. The sliced preserved pork can be best enjoyed if steamed with chopped spring bamboo shoot. Radish chops and preserved pork can also be stewed together and it is popular with many local residents in Lanxi.