Baiyun Trotters (file photo by nddaily.com)

Baiyun Trotters (白云猪手)are one of Guangzhou's most famous dishes which you can find in almost every Cantonese restaurant. As the story goes, this recipe was "discovered" by a monk who lived on Baiyun Mountain.

The legend tells us that once upon a time, there was a small temple on Baiyun Mountain, with a sweet and limpid stream flowing behind it. In the temple, lived a greedy monk with a great weakness on pork.

One day, as his master left the temple to go out begging, the monk managed to put his hands on some nice big trotters. Unfortunately, his master came home before he had finished cooking them. The monk was in such a panic that he threw the trotters out of the window and into the cold stream. After a few long and painful days of waiting for our greedy monk, the master left the temple again. The monk rushed to the stream to pick the trotters.

Baiyun Trotters (file photo by Poco)

Much to his surprise he found the trotters all white and still in good condition. He then reheated them, added a little sugar and some white vinegar. How incredible was the taste! The trotters were not greasy but sweet, fresh and tasty. Since then, all the monks in the temple would eat these delicious trotters as soon as their master would leave the temple. Quickly this dish was made known to people outside the temple and became famous throughout the city.

Major ingredients: trotters, white vinegar, white sugar, and other spices.

Guangzhou Baiyun (white cloud) Mountain

(Cui Mingyang and David Keyton) (The End)