🍽️ Bazi Pork

Soy-braised pork belly, Jinan street food.

Bazi Pork is Jinan, Shandong's most iconic street-fast food, a humble branch of Lu cuisine. Thick rectangular slices of pork belly are tied with straw and braised for hours in a master soy broth spiced with star anise and cinnamon. Each block comes out deep red, glossy and square, the fat melting unctuously, the lean part tender and never dry, all wrapped in rich soy aroma. Aged braising liquid and patient heat are everything; the longer the stock keeps, the deeper its flavor. Jinan locals eat it over rice or steamed buns with a ladle of braising sauce as a working lunch. Plain and substantial, it is the most down-to-earth taste of the Spring City.