A traditional Beijing dish, the meat is fragrant and tender, fatty but not greasy, with a rich flavor, best eaten wrapped in lotus leaf pancakes or baked flatbreads.
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NameBoiled Pork
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CategorySpecialty Cuisine
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OriginFengtai District, Beijing
A traditional Beijing dish, the meat is fragrant and tender, fatty but not greasy, with a rich flavor, best eaten wrapped in lotus leaf pancakes or baked flatbreads. This dish originated from the Manchu people during the late Ming Dynasty, around 300 years ago, and was introduced to the public after the Qing dynasty entered the Pass. [1] This is the most authentic way of cooking meat, those who have tasted it praise it for being fatty but not greasy, lean but not tough, tender but not mushy, thin but not brittle. Garnished with emerald green coriander and a clear sauce, it looks and smells delicious, an indispensable delicacy on the Spring Festival table. To prepare this dish, first wash the skin several times with a sharp knife before placing it in a pot to boil. Turn the meat frequently, do not cover the pot, and cook until you can smell the aroma of the meat. Once the aroma emerges, remove the fire from beneath the stove, cover the pot and let it sit for a moment before lifting it out and slicing it to eat. (Another method suggests: when boiling pork, prepare a basin of cold water next to the pot, and dip the meat into it three times for extra freshness.)
Native Beijingers enjoy eating boiled pork, which may be related to the Manchu custom of sacrificial offerings. The offerings used by the Manchu for worship are all boiled pork, thus forming a habit of eating boiled pork among the general public. Not only is it eaten at home, but it's also served in restaurants. In Beijing, the restaurant known as Shaguoju is the most famous and continues to serve it to this day. Originally named Heshunju, the restaurant was located on South Xisi Street near Fengsheng Alley, facing the street. Its original location was part of the Qianlong-era Prince Ding's residence, consisting of five or six rooms along the roadside. It is said to have opened during the Qianlong period. Due to its use of a particularly large clay pot for boiling meat, it came to be called “Shaguoju,” a nickname that became more famous than its original name. Some visitors would arrive at Heshunju and be unable to find Shaguoju, only to learn from locals that they were in the same place.
The imperial family and nobility of the Qing dynasty had a tradition of regular sacrificial rituals, where the offering was an entire pig, and after the ceremony, the boiled pork would be consumed. Since Heshunju was originally located in the prince's residence, it is possible that the owner was once a chef or someone connected to the prince, opening this small restaurant specializing in boiled pork. They limited themselves to one pig per day, cooking an entire pig each day and selling it until it was gone, without exception. The business operated only in the mornings, closing down in the afternoon. There is a Beijing saying: “The sign at Shaguoju – no service after noon,” illustrating the old-fashioned and conservative management style of the restaurant.
The dishes served at Shaguoju are all made from a single pig, including both cold and hot dishes using pork and offal. Notable cold dishes include salted liver and shredded cooked skin, while hot dishes include fried deer tail (pronounced ‘luye'), fried liver rolls, and stir-fried tripe. Most of these dishes are made from pork offal. Their specialty soup is blood sausage (pork blood stuffed into intestines). As the pork and offal are cooked together in a large pot, the broth has a distinct offal flavor, making it difficult to swallow. Besides these dishes, they serve boiled pork with rice, available in large and small portions. At the time, a small portion of meat cost only a little over ten cents, plus two bowls of rice and a bowl of clear soup, totaling less than twenty cents, providing a satisfying meal at a very affordable price.
Roasted, grilled, and boiled refers specifically to a banquet centered around boiled pork. Generally, middle- and lower-class native Beijingers live frugally and traditionally. When there are celebrations at home, they are accustomed to hiring private catering services (known as “mouth-strip chefs” in the industry) rather than going to restaurants. One category of these services specializes in banquets featuring boiled pork. Their hot dishes are also limited to pork and offal, with roasting and grilling as the main cooking methods, alongside boiled pork. Hence the term “roasted, grilled, and boiled.” All dishes, whether cold or hot, are called “roasted plates.” They are served in five-inch small plates, with the number of plates determining the price of the entire banquet. The best roasted, grilled, and boiled banquet can consist of forty-eight plates, while common sizes are eight, sixteen, or twenty-four plates. Chefs in this field have high culinary skills, able to create many variations. Cold plates, besides savory options, can include sweet dishes, such as diced fat dipped in batter and fried, then stir-fried with brown sugar, a colorful sweet cold plate that was particularly popular at the time. “Mouth-strip chefs” were once a unique and popular profession in Beijing.
Historical Anecdote
A traditional Beijing dish, the meat is fragrant and tender, fatty but not greasy, with a rich flavor, best eaten wrapped in lotus leaf pancakes or baked flatbreads. This dish originated from the Manchu people during the late Ming Dynasty, around 300 years ago, and was introduced to the public after the Qing dynasty entered the Pass. The Beijing restaurant “Shaguoju” is renowned for its preparation of this dish. Legend has it that in 1741, when Shaguoju was first established, they used a large clay pot with a diameter of 133 centimeters to cook meat. Each day, they only bought one pig, primarily selling boiled pork. Due to the popularity of their business, they would sell out before noon, taking down their sign and closing in the afternoon. This led to a popular saying: “The sign at Shaguoju – no service after noon.”
Dish Characteristics
The sauce is rich and flavorful, the meat is piping hot, and those who have tasted it praise it for being fatty but not greasy, lean but not tough, tender but not mushy, and thin but not brittle. Garnished with emerald green coriander and a clear sauce, it looks and smells delicious, an indispensable delicacy on the Spring Festival table.