Every New Year comes, and in the warm kitchen, it is indispensable to have a pot of rich and fragrant thịt kho tàu (Vietnamese caramelized pork belly). Join Tasty Touch in the following article to find out the origin and meaning of thịt kho tàu, and effective tips to help make the pot of thịt kho tàu tender and delicious.
What is thịt kho tàu?
Thịt kho tàu (Vietnamese caramelized pork belly) is a pure Vietnamese dish that has nothing to do with Chinese cuisine, but the word “Tau” appears in the name of the dish, causing many people to misunderstand.
The actual story is that this dish has been handed down from time immemorial as simply braised meat. Over time with many variations when preparing dishes. One stops at the meat-and-egg mixture. With brackish sweet spices add a little spicy to eat with delicious white rice.
For experts in culinary culture, the word “Tau” is simply Western culture. The word Tau simply means that the taste of that dish is as bland as river water. The rivers that the people of the South call the upper rivers. Therefore, the dish is called thịt kho tàu because it has a sweet taste like the water of the upper river.
No matter how the meaning is explained, this is considered a pure Vietnamese dish that is loved and enjoyed by many people.
The dish has become familiar to many people, from all walks of life, whether rich or poor. Just mentioning the name of thịt kho tàu, people can easily feel the atmosphere of reunion. A sign of a successful and prosperous new year. The eggs are left intact when the warehouse symbolizes a completely new year for the owner. Along with large pieces of meat, it symbolizes eternal prosperity. With the meanings that this dish brings, this is really a pure Vietnamese dish that is loved by the family. The thit kho tau is stocked again and again on the fishing boat, making the dish become salty like the taste of the sea.
How to make Thịt kho tàu?
How To Cook Thịt Kho Tàu Like A Vietnamese?
Course: Uncategorized4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalBraised meat – Thịt kho tàu is a familiar dish in Vietnamese meals. Especially during Tet, the following article would like to share with you the secret to making delicious and attractive braised pork. Today, let’s get try to cook the dish with Tasty Touch.
Ingredients
Bacon or pork leg 500gr
5 boiled duck eggs
Coconut water 400ml
Minced onion 1 tbsp
Minced garlic 1 tablespoon
Fish sauce 6 tablespoons
Sugar 4 tbsp
Seasoning seeds 1 tbsp
Pepper 1 teaspoon
Directions
- Marinated meat
Should choose meat with thin skin so that the dish is delicious, tender, and not greasy. To reduce the smell of meat, when you buy it, you need to soak it in dilute salt water, then wash it in cold water, and then cut it.
Put 500g of meat in a bowl, in turn, add 1 teaspoon minced shallot, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/3 teaspoon seasoning, and 1 teaspoon pepper, and mix well.
Then, cover the bowl of meat with plastic wrap and marinate for 15-20 minutes.
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- Make colored water
Put sugar in a pot, cook until the sugar boils, and turn the color of cockroach wings, then add a sufficient amount of water.
Sugar should not be heated until it turns black because the meat will be bitter when stored.
- Fresh coconut meat stock
Put the marinated meat in the pan, stir-fry until the meat is firm, then pour in 400ml of coconut water.
Cover the pot, then reduce the heat and cook the meat for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, the water has dried up, add more water, and add 5 boiled duck eggs, cover the pot and cook for another 30 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Maybe you also care about the recipe of Nem nướng.
- Finished product
Finally, you turn off the stove and put it on a plate to serve with other dishes. When the meat is completely cooled, it can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. When it’s time to eat, just cook for a few more minutes or microwave.
Recipe Video
How many calories are in thịt kho tàu?
According to the National Institute of Nutrition, the calories in specific types of meat are as follows: Lean pork is 145 calories/100g, pork belly is only 260 calories/100g and fatty pork is 394 calories/100g.
The characteristic of thịt kho tàu is that the pork part includes both fat and delicious lean meat. According to studies by nutritionists, 100g of average thịt kho tàu contains 166.6 calories. In which the main component is fat, which is mainly soluble fatty acids.
In fact, your body can tolerate energy from thịt kho tàu up to 440 kcal for 1 bowl of thịt kho tàu full of 300g of pork and eggs. The calories from 100g of braised pork belly are equivalent to 1 slice of braised snakehead fish (131 kcal), 1 cup of vegetarian bitter melon soup (175 kcal), and much less than a portion of broken rice (527 kcal).
Fat contains lecithin and cholesterol necessary for the human body. Cholesterol is an indispensable substance for the brain, liver, heart, and kidneys, and is also the main raw material for the production of sex hormones and other endocrine hormones in the human body. Some cholesterol can be converted to vitamin D by ultraviolet radiation.
Thit kho tau has a high-fat content, a stronger ability to resist hunger after eating, and at the same time can maintain the normal metabolism of protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K, promoting absorption and utilization of these substances.
The fat content in thit kho tau is as high as 90%, of which saturated fatty acids are about 37% and monounsaturated fatty acids are about 46%. Thit kho tau provides eaters with high-quality protein and essential fatty acids. Thit kho tau can provide heme (organic iron) and cysteine, promote iron absorption, and improve iron deficiency anemia.
Does eating thịt kho tàu cause weight gain?
Because thịt kho tàu has a lot of fat, many people worry about whether eating thit kho tau causes weight gain?
In fact, the fat in thit kho tau is not harmful to health if you know how to eat it in moderation and so will not cause excess weight. Even people who do not eat fat for a long time can cause low cholesterol, leading to the hardening of the arteries, anemia, or malnutrition.
Eating meat with reasonable fat and knowing how to die makes a low-calorie thit kho tau with healthy ingredients that won’t cause fat. On the contrary, people who eat a lot of thit kho tau continuously, do not control the calories when eating thit kho tau, cause obesity and other health problems.
According to experts, people who are physically exhausted should add fat to meet their needs. Fatty meat contains a lot of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, so people with high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and medical conditions should not eat fatty meat.
So whether thit kho tau makes you fat or not depends on the amount of food you eat. But basically, this dish easily leads to weight gain. Thit kho tau cannot be eaten arbitrarily, especially for those who lose weight. You should only eat a moderate amount. If this dish is too appealing to you and you eat a lot in one day, you should reduce the amount in the next meal.
What does thịt kho tàu taste like?
The most delicious and standard dish of thịt kho tàu (Vietnamese caramelized pork belly) is probably in the South thanks to the rich source of ingredients.
Pork is usually pork belly (bacon) or parts that have both lean and fat. The meat is cut into large square pieces, while the large and round duck eggs mean “regular square, all peace”.
Whenever visiting someone’s house, on the tray of rice, it is easy to see thit kho tau (Vietnamese caramelized pork belly). Everyone has a meal while chatting, making the atmosphere of Tet become gentle, warm, and happy. It is a sign of a happy, favorable, and blessed new year.
The tender piece of thit kho tau has the clear white color of the fat layer and the red color of the lean meat, the light brown color of the stewed pork skin, and the color of the sugar water is golden and wavy.
Boiled duck eggs are soft, the yolk is fat and smooth. Accompanied by the sweet taste of Siamese coconut water, the rich salty taste of the delicious fish sauce, and the spicy taste of red chili slices, all blend together to create an unforgettable taste in the mouth of the audience.
People in the South often joke that the taste of life is like a pot of thit kho tau. Must have enough spicy (from chili) – bitter (of the caramel sauce) – salty (from fish sauce) – sweet (from sugar) then that’s life. Just like having to go through a lot of hard work, there are sweet results.
Tips for making thịt kho tàu
Tell you a few tips to make thịt kho tàu rich and fragrant for the Tet holiday:
- You should choose a piece of meat with a balanced ratio of lean and fat, when finished, the meat will be tender and the dish looks more beautiful.
- In order for the meat to absorb the spices evenly, you should marinate the meat for at least 30 minutes.
- You stir until the meat is hunted, then add the coconut water to cover the meat. Remember to regularly skim soup to keep the broth delicious and not cloudy.
- When the meat is almost tender, you can add the boiled duck eggs and peel them. Thus, the new eggs are not crushed and hardened.
- You can also replace duck eggs with chicken eggs, or quail eggs as you like.
- To use thit kho tau for many days and still be as delicious as new, after cooking and cooling, you divide it into small portions to eat and store in the freezer, and when needed, take out each portion to reheat.
Thịt kho tàu is really cool, right? Hope this article can provide you with beneficial information about this special dish of Vietnamese cuisine.
