La Rou
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Dried Chinese pork belly (腊肉 / lap yuk style)
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La Rou (Simplified Chinese: 腊肉; Traditional Chinese: 臘肉; Pinyin: Là ròu), often rendered in English as Chinese bacon or cured pork, is pork preserved by salting and then smoking, air-drying, or both. It is a pantry staple across much of China, with well-known regional styles in Sichuan, Hunan, Yunnan, and elsewhere. In Sichuan–Chongqing home kitchens it supplies a smoky-salty depth to everyday stir-fries and one-pot meals—including the vegetable-and-meat bed under Kong Fan (箜饭).
Characteristics
Pieces are typically cut from pork belly, shoulder, or other fatty cuts, rubbed or soaked with salt (sometimes sugar, liquor, and spices), then hung to dry over wood smoke or in cool winter air. Finished slabs look firm and amber to deep brown; the fat may bead slightly on the surface. When cooked, the meat is usually sliced or diced: fat renders into the pan, and the lean stays chewy-savory rather than fresh-pork soft. Flavor ranges from gently wind-dried saltiness to assertive smoke, depending on local practice and wood.
Regional labels are soft rather than exclusive. Sichuan and Hunan household bacon often emphasize winter curing and smoke; Yunnan styles may lean on wind-drying and local spices; southern coastal markets sell related lap yuk (腊肉) hanging beside other preserved meats. This page treats 腊肉 as the broad Chinese cured-pork category, not as one branded product.
Distinction from Cantonese lap mei sausages
In Cantonese and overseas Chinese shops, 腊味 (lap mei) may bundle several preserved meats. Cantonese lap cheong (广式腊肠) is a sweet-savory dried sausage of minced pork, distinct in form and seasoning from slab or strip 腊肉. When Sichuan–Chongqing writing on Kong Fan or home stir-fries mentions cured pork, it ordinarily means regional Chinese bacon (腊肉), not lap cheong. The two can appear together on a festive table, but they are not interchangeable ingredients.
Culinary uses
Cooks rinse or briefly blanch heavily smoked pieces if needed, then slice or dice them. Common roles include:
- aromatic base for stir-fried greens, beans, or potatoes
- smoky partner in clay-pot or one-wok rice dishes such as Kong Fan
- diced garnish in fried rice, noodles, or egg dishes
- festive cold cuts after steaming or boiling whole pieces
Encyclopedic note only: this page does not provide a curing recipe or step-by-step cooking instructions.