Pork is a popular food in Vietnamese cuisine. People are familiar with parts such as tenderloin, pork belly, ribs, leg, ham, hock, shoulder… But there are some parts of the pig that many people rarely eat, like jowl meat, cheek meat, and pig tail…
Jowl meat is the meat extracted from the pig’s chin and cheek. This meat is very delicious because it has marbled fat alternating with lean meat. This particular meat is not as dry as tenderloin, but it is not as greasy as regular fat. The name “jowl” refers to the fact that it comes from the pig’s cheek, which requires effort to extract and is not abundant. Each pig can yield about 2kg of jowl meat. Jowl meat is tasty, tender, and not chewy, so many people enjoy it. Especially in the frozen meat import industry, they also package this jowl meat separately and sell it at a high price to restaurants.
Jowl meat is flavorful, not greasy, tender, and also crispy, which is a characteristic that is hard to find in other pork cuts. After cooking, jowl meat retains moisture and tenderness better than other cuts. It quickly absorbs flavors and tastes delicious.
Because of its limited quantity, many people often focus more on parts like pork belly, leg, tenderloin, shoulder, and ham, without knowing about jowl meat. Jowl meat is not widely sold everywhere, and many sellers are reluctant to package and sell this specific meat separately. In the market, the price of jowl meat can be double or even more than double the price of other cuts.
Cheek meat is also a scarce part of the pig. Cheek meat is a piece of meat attached to both sides of the pig’s cheek. Each pig has two cheek meats, with a total weight of about 2-3 ounces. This cheek meat is a separate muscle with a unique mass that can be easily removed. Sliced cheek meat has marbling and tendon threads mixed with lean meat, making it soft and sweet. It looks beautiful with meat marbling similar to beef tenderloin, and it tastes juicy and delicious. Those who want to eat cheek meat often have to go to the market early or instruct the seller because each pig only has two cheek meats.
Pig tail: This is also a delicious pork part that is crispy, not chewy, and does not cause greasiness. It contains a lot of collagen and is often used to make medicinal dishes with stewing.
Preparing delicious dishes from jowl meat, cheek meat, and pig tail
Jowl meat, cheek meat, and pig tail are “specialties” of pork, so if you have tried these types of meat, you would want to buy them again. Especially if there are adults and children in the house, jowl meat and cheek meat are very tender and easy to eat.
Jowl meat and cheek meat have a soft and sweet texture, with the meat structure and marbling being similar, so you can cook them in the same way. The simplest method is to slice them and stir-fry or boil the cheek meat and serve it with pure fish sauce, which is delicious.
If you want a more elaborate preparation, you can make char siu or grill them in the following ways:
Fried jowl meat or cheek meat: This is a delicious and popular way of cooking jowl meat. Because this method helps the meat to have a fragrant aroma and remain sweet. Due to the thinness of the jowl meat, it only needs to be quickly fried in hot oil to turn golden and crispy.
Prepare ingredients:
– Jowl meat: 300g or pork cheek meat
– Meat marinating sauce, garlic, purple onion, pepper sauce, soy sauce, crispy frying flour, cold water, Cooking oil, hoisin sauce
How to fry jowl meat: Wash the jowl meat or cheek meat with diluted saltwater to clean it. This meat should be prepared into large, thin slices for quick frying. Finely chop the garlic and purple onion.
Put the meat in a bowl, then add the marinating sauce or pepper sauce, mix well. Add two tablespoons of crispy frying flour to the meat, add cold water, and stir well. Marinate for about 5 minutes before frying.
Heat the oil in a pan, then fry the jowl meat in the hot oil. Turn the meat to brown evenly on both sides. Then add the chopped garlic and purple onion to enhance the aromatic scent. Remove the fried jowl meat and let it drain the oil. Then slice them into bite-sized pieces.
Char siu with jowl meat or cheek meat
Prepare ingredients:
400g jowl meat or pork cheek meat
1 pack of Thai char siu seasoning
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove of garlic
1 dry shallot
How to make char siu:
After washing the meat, cut it into long, thick pieces about 1-2 cm. Marinate the pieces with a pack of char siu and a tablespoon of honey for about 2-3 hours. Pound the garlic and shallot.
Put the meat into a pot, then add the chopped garlic and shallot, and pour enough water to almost cover the meat. Simmer until the meat is tender, then add seasoning to taste. This is a nutritious pork tail soup, especially suitable for cold days.
Boiled pig tail: If you like simple steamed or boiled dishes, boiled pig tail is a highly delicious suggestion. Clean the tail, then place it in boiling water for about 20 minutes with ginger and scallions. After boiling, place the tail in a bowl of ice water to make it white and crispy. Then chop the pig tail according to its joints. Dip the boiled pig tail in chili salt or pure fish sauce, and serve with some fresh herbs for a refreshing and delicious meal. The meat in the tail is crispy, fragrant, and sweeter than other boiled meat parts.
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