Hefei Cuisine – Shan Fen Yuan Zi, a Delight Always Hidden in the Memories of Hefei People

Shan Fen Yuan Zi is a specialty dish from Tongcheng, Hefei, and Luan County in Anhui Province, where local residents have a tradition of making mountain yam (red yam) powder. Mountain yam (red yam) powder is often used as a seasoning for stir-fries and can also be paired with other dishes as a main ingredient. Among all the dishes, Shan Fen Yuan Zi with roasted pork belly is the most distinctive. However, it can only be made authentically in a few rural areas or ordinary farmhouse kitchens in Anhui Province. Today, we will teach you how to make authentic Shan Fen Yuan Zi.

Shan Fen Yuan Zi is black, fragrant, and sweet, with a flexible and resilient texture. Its biggest feature is to use mountain yam (red yam) starch to absorb the aroma and oiliness of the meat, so that although it is full of meat flavor, it is not greasy, making people want to eat more and more.

Ingredients:

Mountain yam (wisteria root powder) 350g, pork belly fat 200g, white sugar 150g, green silk 10g, star anise 5g.

Methods:

1Add water to the mountain yam and mix until slightly diluted. Heat oil in a pot, and pour in a small bowl of mountain yam paste, flip it into a pancake shape, and it's ready. Take it out, cut it into 1-2 inch squares.

2Cut the fresh pork into pieces similar to braised pork belly and cook until tender.

3Add the mountain yam circles to the pot with the meat, add an appropriate amount of water, stir-fry until the mountain yam circles turn completely black, indicating they are cooked. The texture is sticky but not thick, and not greasy.

At this time, a plate of shiny and slippery mountain yam circles with roasted pork belly sprinkled with green onion petals is ready to be served. At this time, the aroma of the meat and the elasticity of the mountain yam circles make people drool……