Pingding guoyourou, a fried pork dish originating from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was spread from official banquets to ordinary families in Taiyuan and then to other parts of Shanxi province.

Guoyourou can be found in Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. However, the cooking method of guoyourou in Shanxi is quite different from those in southern China with its unique local flavor.

Shanxi guoyourou has been awarded at many national cooking competitions. According to the traditional recipe, the lean meat shall be pickled with starch and edible oil and then stir fried with black fungus, mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots.

Nowadays, to make the dish, people also use taimo, or tianhuacai, a nutritious fungus and a specialty of Shanxi's Wutai Mountain area, and potato chips.

As the most famous traditional dish in Shanxi, guoyourou has been developed for centuries. It's said that the guoyourou in today's Pingding county in Yangquan boasts the most authentic flavor. People have innovated the dish by using different ingredients or new recipes, such as cabbage, pepper, spicy oil, onion, garlic bolt, dried chilli and bean spout.