Also Jiǔzhuǎn dàcháng, Nine-times-turned pork intestines
Short lengths of pork intestine, cleaned, blanched, fried and then braised down in sugar, vinegar and soy until glossy — sweet, sour, salty, peppery and faintly bitter at once.
What makes it nine-turn intestines
Pork large intestine, scrupulously cleaned and blanched first.
Fried, then braised in sugar, vinegar and soy until the sauce clings.
Several tastes at once, finished with ground cinnamon and pepper.
Where it comes from
Usually traced to Jiuhua Lou, a restaurant in late Qing Jinan whose owner was fond of the number nine. It began as plain braised intestines; a diner, so the story goes, found it so carefully made that he likened it to the Daoists' elixir, refined nine times, and the name stuck.
It's a showpiece of the Jinan school: humble offal, taken through blanching, frying and braising, finished with ground spices such as cinnamon and amomum.