Braised pork belly
While bacon gets a bad rap where healthy eating is concerned, that doesn't stop many people from the guilty pleasures of sandwiches, burgers and Western-style breakfasts featuring the fatty pork strips.
What makes them so tasty, of course, is the fat. It may be bad for cholesterol levels, but saturated fats still play important roles in many cuisines around the world. That's especially true in the wintertime, when rich dishes are comfort food and gaining a bit of weight is more forgiven.
In Chinese cuisine, fatty pork, lard and beef tallow are key ingredients in dishes ranging from Dongpo pork and traditional pastries to Chongqing-style hotpot.
Prime cuts of pork belly called wuhuarou consist of five layers: skin, fat, lean meat, fat and lean meat. They are reserved for dishes like hongshaorou, or braised pork belly, and Cantonese roast pork belly with crispy skin.
Fatty cuts of pork are also indispensable in making cured meats like sausages.
In China, larou, or cured pork belly, is usually prepared in the 12th month of the lunar calendar, which is called layue. Strips of pork belly are seasoned and smoked according to traditional recipes that vary province by province.
The meat can be preserved even through the hot summer months.
For a quick stir-fry dish to accompany steamed rice, thinly slice cured pork belly that has been soaked in warm water or boiled to soften. Toss the slices in the wok along with seasonal vegetables. With oil sizzling through the layers, the fatty part of the meat becomes almost translucent.
It's wise to go easy on eating cured pork belly because of its high levels of fat, sodium and nitrite.
Minced pork with some fat left in it tastes better than super lean ground meat. The fat gives the meat a smoother texture and makes it easier to work with.
"Lion's head" is a signature dish in Huaiyang-style cuisine. It features large meatballs the size of a fist braised in brown sauce or steamed in a rich stock with vegetables. The ideal minced pork to make the meatballs is comprised of 60 percent fat and 40 percent lean meat. The meatballs are made by chopping the meat up by hand and adding green onion, water chestnuts and ginger.
Many Chinese families prefer to make lard at home, cooking pork fat on low heat to extract the oil, which solidifies when cooled.
A spoonful or two of the lard can be melted in a hot wok for stir-frying. In some households, it is preferred to vegetable oils because of the richer flavor.
Traditional Shanghai-style scallion pancakes sold in stores, like the popular Ada Scallion Pancake, are made with lard cut into the dough alongside chopped fresh scallion. The lard not only provides extra flavor, but also makes the pancake more flaky and crusty.
