A beloved Bai ethnic casserole from Dali, Yunnan — live loach braised in a sour-spicy broth alongside puffed deep-fried pork rinds that swell with absorbed sauce into a pillowy, juicy layer. A festival and banquet staple of the Bai people, the flavour is simultaneously intensely sour, savoury, and warming. Named one of Dali's ten signature dishes in 2023.
Dali's flatlands around Erhai Lake have long supported rice paddy farming, and the irrigation channels historically teemed with loach — a reliable, free protein source for Bai farmsteads. Puffed pork rind (泡皮), made by deep-frying dried pig skin, was a traditional pantry staple in Bai festive cooking: shelf-stable and capable of absorbing broth beautifully when rehydrated. Combining the two in a clay pot with local sour plums for acidity evolved into a signature celebration dish served at weddings and important guest banquets. The dish entered Dali's official top-ten in the 2023 'Dali Beautiful Life Season — Dali Flavour' culinary heritage initiative, affirming its place as a living pillar of Bai ethnic cuisine.
First a cube of puffed pork rind: soft and yielding outside, but loaded with absorbed sour-spicy broth that bursts from its sponge-like interior on every bite. Then a piece of loach — smooth, virtually boneless, with a clean river sweetness. Together the sour-savoury-spicy layers build into a deeply satisfying finish, with a faint char from the clay pot base.
Deep-frying causes rapid steam expansion in the pig skin's collagen matrix, creating a porous, sponge-like structure (泡皮). When returned to liquid, this open matrix absorbs broth by capillary action, producing the characteristic 'juicy inside, slightly chewy outside' texture. Loach skin contains abundant mucoproteins; long gentle simmering dissolves these into the broth, giving it a silky, lightly thickened body. Sour plum (containing citric and malic acids) creates a mildly acidic environment that suppresses volatile fishy amines (trimethylamine) and simultaneously helps tenderise the loach's surface proteins.
Variations
Plain loach version: omit pork rind for a lighter, cleaner sour-spicy broth. Tomato-sour version: substitute fresh tomatoes for sour plums, producing a brighter red colour and softer acidity. Tofu version: add firm tofu cubes alongside the pork rind to absorb the broth, making the dish more substantial.
On the Palate
Where Dali Puffed Pork Rind and Loach Casserole sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 30 min
- 130 min
Soak dried puffed pork rind in warm water for 30 minutes until fully rehydrated and soft; squeeze gently and cut into 4 cm squares.
Watch outSoak the puffed pork rind until fully soft, then squeeze gently — its sponge matrix has to be relaxed so it can drink the broth later without staying dry and hard.
- 260 min
Place live loach in lightly salted water for 1 hour to purge sand and mud; clean, gut, and rinse under running water until surface slime is greatly reduced.
- 33 min
Heat vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high heat; fry sliced ginger, crushed garlic, and dried chillies until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add pickled chilli paste and stir-fry until red oil appears.
- 43 min
Add the cleaned loach and stir-fry over high heat for 2-3 minutes, turning once, until both sides are lightly golden and the skin firms up.
- 520 min
Pour in stock or water (about 500 ml) and add 3-4 sour plums; bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- 610 min
Add the soaked pork rind pieces; continue simmering for 8-10 minutes until the rind has fully absorbed the broth and the soup is flavourful and slightly thickened.
Watch outAdd the rind late and simmer eight to ten minutes until it's drunk the broth and the soup thickens slightly — that's the juicy-inside texture the dish is named for.
- 72 min
Transfer to a clay pot if needed; scatter spring onion and fresh coriander over the top and serve immediately.
