Pork is a popular food in family meals. It is cheap, easy to cook, and not boring to eat.
The nutritional value of pork
Eating pork is not only a common dish in every Vietnamese family, but pork also has a rich nutritional value. Pork contains almost all the necessary nutrients for the body, which is why pork dishes are preferred in many households.
Eating pork provides high-quality protein
Pork contains all the essential amino acids for life activities. In 100g of pork, there are 5,751mg histidine, 6,189mg isoleucine, 10,387mg leucine, 3,469mg methionine, 5,122mg phenylalanine, 5,171mg threonine, 1,212mg tryptophan, 11,482mg lysine.
Eating pork provides essential vitamins and minerals for adults
Pork contributes a lot of different vitamins and minerals to the body, such as phosphorus, potassium, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc… Among them, the content of vitamin B in pork is the main source of vitamin for humans. Vitamin B has many important functions in the body, such as helping to produce red blood cells, maintaining healthy kidney function, synthesizing fatty acids, and playing a role in energy metabolism…
Eating pork provides glycine and collagen
Pork skin contains a significant amount of glycine, which helps the body produce more collagen. Collagen is an important substance that helps maintain healthy hair, skin, and joints. In particular, collagen helps keep the skin smooth, elastic, and supple. In 100g of pork skin, there is about 11,919 mg of glycine necessary for the body.
Eating pork provides selenium
Selenium is an important substance that helps the human thyroid gland function properly. With just 170g of pork, you can provide the necessary amount of selenium for the body every day.
When buying pork, we often buy pork butt, loin, ribs, ham… without knowing that there are 2 valuable and nutritious parts: pig tail and cheek meat.
Pig tail
In addition to the tongue bone, there is another part of the pig that few people pay attention to, but is also very good for health, which is the pig tail. Many people think that pig tail is not tasty because it doesn’t have much meat, but it is actually a valuable part of the pig.
The tails of livestock have long been used for strengthening muscles to treat many diseases, mainly to nourish the kidneys, treat back pain, and relieve fatigue. Among them, pig tail has the effect of tonifying the qi, nourishing blood, and supporting kidney deficiency, impotence, premature ejaculation,…
Some delicious dishes from pig tail
Braised pig tail with Chinese herbs
First on the list of dishes from pig tail is braised pig tail with Chinese herbs, which has the function of tonifying the qi and nourishing blood. This dish not only contains many nutrients but also has a rich and attractive flavor.
The pig tail is braised to be soft but still retains its tenderness and the characteristic aroma of Chinese herbs. This dish is delicious when served with fresh noodles or rice vermicelli.
Braised pig tail with papaya
Braised dishes or dishes cooked with papaya are familiar in every Vietnamese family. Among them, braised pig tail with papaya is extremely delicious and easy to eat for all family members.
The pig tail is braised to be soft and fatty, and the sweet papaya with refreshing broth is perfect with hot rice.
Crispy fried pig tail
A tantalizing dish in drinking sessions that you can refer to is crispy fried pig tail, which is delicious and attractive. The pig tail is deep-fried, so the outer skin is crispy, while the inside is tender, and it is eaten with fragrant and tangy tamarind sauce, making it “perfect”.
This dish is perfect for entertaining friends or as a snack. Don’t hesitate to go to the kitchen and show off your skills right away!
Braised pig tail with lotus seeds
A highly nutritious braised dish from pig tail that you cannot miss is braised pig tail with lotus seeds. When eating, you will feel the chewy and fatty flavor of lotus seeds, while the pig tail is chewy and tender, ensuring no one can resist.
Salted fried pig tail
One dish that is very appetizing in a drinking party and you can try is salted fried pig tail, which is delicious, fragrant, and attractive. The pig tail is deep-fried in oil, so the outer skin is crispy, while the inside is tender. It is served with a savory, tangy, sweet, and salty tamarind sauce, which is “perfect”.
Grilled pig tail
On rainy days, when it’s cold and you can gather with family, friends, and enjoy the fragrant grilled dishes, it’s really amazing, isn’t it!
Try the hot and delicious grilled pig tail, fragrant with five-spice powder, and slightly spicy with satay. This dish is even better when served with lettuce, perilla leaves, and dipped in chili sauce.
Cheek meat
Cheek meat is not widely known because many people only know pig cheeks. But in fact, the cheek of a pig has 2 parts, the outer cheek meat and the cheek meat.
The outer cheek meat is usually less tasty than the cheek meat because it has more fat. The cheek meat has soft, alternating fibers, and soft tendons instead of being hard or tough. It is worth mentioning that a whole pig only has 200-300 grams of cheek meat, so it is often quickly sold out, and very few people know about it.
Because it contains both soft fibers and meat, it will be a super favorite type of meat for those who neither like tough meat nor want too much fat to cause disgust. Taking a bite of cheek meat, you can’t resist the soft tendon that melts in your mouth, not tough, unlike ordinary dry meat that can get stuck in your teeth.
Some delicious dishes from cheek meat
Braised cheek meat with quail eggs
To make this dish, you can apply a recipe that is not much different from regular braised meat. After washing the meat, you marinate it with fish sauce, salt, sugar, MSG, purple onions, and minced chili before braising.
When braising, you add the caramelized sauce, then stir-fry the marinated meat and add coconut water to make the meat naturally sweet. Finally, add quail eggs. The braised cheek meat dish is not as greasy as ordinary fatty meat, but it is also tender thanks to the combination of tendons and meat.
Stir-fried cheek meat with vegetables
Many people also take cheek meat to stir-fry with vegetables, which has a unique and delicious flavor, and is compared to the tenderloin of beef. You can stir-fry cheek meat with vegetables such as bell peppers, snow peas, baby corn, etc. The sweet fragrance from fresh vegetables, nutritious and tender tendon meat is guaranteed to be unbeatable.
Grilled cheek meat
If it’s regular meat, when grilled, it is easily dry and tough, but cheek meat is marinated deeply in meat and cooked tender. To save time on cooking, you can use a ready-made marinade for grilled meat. When cooking, you can grill with vegetables, and it can become a small BBQ party.
2 Valuable Parts on Pigs: Flat belly with ginseng and bird’s nest, eat without getting fat
When shopping, if you come across these parts of the pig, buy them right away because they are delicious, nutritious, and full of value.
