Delicious food for Tet holiday
No one knows when it started, but pork soaked in fish sauce has become a traditional delicacy during Tet of the people of Quang Nam. Whenever the December sun shines yellow on the mustard greens in the garden, the elderly remind their children and grandchildren to prepare to buy pork soaked in fish sauce, saying: "Tet without this dish will sound too bland!"
The strange thing is that the dish of pork soaked in fish sauce appears a lot in meals and offerings on the three days of spring. On the remaining days of the year, it is rarely mentioned. Many times, over a cup of strong rice wine, people discuss why Quang people like pork soaked in fish sauce so much in their Tet meals?
Was it because it was the best way to preserve at that time? Or were the Quang people, who were fans of fish sauce, so they thought of this clever combination? Then, maybe because they were addicted to the rich, fatty, aromatic flavor of fish sauce, no matter how many delicious and strange dishes there were during Tet, they still craved pork slices soaked in fish sauce.
For Quang people, pickled pork is not only a traditional dish but also a measure of the skill of the daughter in the family. When guests come to visit, they taste the pickled pork and praise it for its aroma, taste, not tough, not mushy… the host is very proud.
Quang people are not fussy about their cuisine . They prefer the original, natural flavor of food, so is the dish of pork soaked in fish sauce. Anyone can make it. All you need is pork and fish sauce.
The most popular are the butt, shoulder, and belly. The secret to choosing meat is to use “hot” pork, just slaughtered. To get the meat as delicious as expected, the whole neighborhood often contributes money to buy a pig to slaughter. This way, not only does it create a bustling atmosphere during Tet, strengthens the neighborly relationship, but it also ensures that there is “clean meat”.
Full flavor
Mothers and sisters are always willing to show you how to marinate pork in fish sauce so that the meat is firm, fragrant and does not separate. The most common way is to boil the meat, cook fish sauce with spices such as sugar, pepper, onion, ginger, etc.
Wait for both ingredients to cool, then arrange the meat in a glass jar, pour in the cooked fish sauce, and cover tightly. Some people are picky and want to preserve the sweetness, so they steam the meat and then soak it in the fish sauce. This method is a bit time-consuming, but the meat is much more fragrant and firmer.
It seems that the Quang people's pickled pork dish is suitable for the spring weather in the Central region, when the cold is only a bit chilly in the dry yellow sunlight in front of the porch, when the fresh green cabbage is used to "pickle" the meat.
The best way to eat fish sauce is to roll it in rice paper with raw vegetables. The meat is salty, fatty but not greasy, blending in the strong aroma of basil, cinnamon, baby cabbage, lettuce...
The beauty of this Quang-style dish is its compactness and flexibility in preparation and use. During the three days of Tet, a jar of fish sauce in the house is enough to keep the family full. When the kids come home from playing, they just need to slice the meat, pick a basket of raw vegetables and have something to eat right away.
If you are diligent, put on a rice cooker, if you are lazy, take out some rice paper to dip and roll. When it comes to the rice offering, the meat soaked in fish sauce can be fried, stir-fried with bamboo shoots or green papaya, radish or rolled with fresh onions... to have a new dish.
The fish sauce can be eaten with pickled cabbage, pickled onions or pickled vegetables. This is also a favorite dish of Quang men when they can sip rice wine during the Tet holidays.
The three days of Tet have passed, the jar of meat soaked in fish sauce has more time to develop its flavor. In the first days of the new year, the market is not as crowded as usual. Banh tet, banh chung, and meat soaked in fish sauce are now an option for families with many children or those with late guests.
The slices of marinated meat have turned the color of cockroach wings, the fat is soaked in clear fish sauce and sugar, the skin is tough and crunchy, becoming the nostalgia... of Tet for every person far away.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/man-moi-thit-heo-dam-nuoc-mam-3147450.html
Comment (0)