How we pick our ingredients #3: Pork
Why we like pork butts
Source: Made with Lau
Pork? Yes! It is unbelievable how Marupo Eats has grown over the years, from selling Hong Kong egg tarts at the beginning, to an extended menu now with milk tea, spring rolls and many more exciting work-in-progress dishes releasing soon!
Spring rolls are one of our newer menu items, with the original pork-based version, as well as a vegetarian option. If you ordered Marupo’s Lunar New Year Box earlier in the year or stopped by more recently you may have also tried our handmade siu mai (燒賣), filled with hand-cut pork, shrimp and a little bit of shiitake mushroom, With pork becoming a staple ingredient in our savory dishes, in today’s post, we will cover how we choose the pork we use!
Asian vs Western cuts of pork
The cuts we use in our dishes
Where we source our pork
How breeds and the breeding condition matters
🐽Is there a difference between Asian cuts and Western cuts of pork?
Yes! Western cuts are usually primal cuts that are larger in size, whereas Asian cuts are usually smaller and more specific. We love this diagram and explanation from Kimchimari, which breaks down the 22 Korean cuts of pork. With the pork leg / ham alone, there are already six different Korean cuts!
Source: A Foodie World
Source: Kimchimari
Western butchers tend to age the pork for a little more than a week so that the natural enzymes help relax the meat and intensify its flavor. Meanwhile In Chinese cuisine, freshness is important. Because of this, the meat is usually used as soon as possible. That is why in the US for example, the meat is cut and processed before it is sold, whereas in Asia, the pig is disassembled and cut at meat stalls according to the customer’s preference.
🐽What cut do we use?
Source: Eat Cho Food
For spring rolls, we want all the ingredients to be around the same size (diced pieces). Ground pork is therefore preferred in this case. If there was a way to make pulled “stringy” pork similar to enoki mushrooms, that may be interesting to pursue in the future.
For siu mai, we use fattier cuts of pork like pork belly and pork butt - which, not to be confused by the name, is actually the upper part of the pig’s shoulder, behind the neck. Pork butt has a good ratio of fat and lean meat, and fattier cuts give the sweet, tender, and juicy texture we want in a siu mai. The fattier cut is especially important to help fuse the pork with the shrimp to get a homogeneous texture. Leaner cuts of meat like pork loin would end up too dry and rough for a siu mai.
Different cuts are used for different purposes, and ultimately depends on what you are trying to make. Leaner, tender cuts like the pork tenderloin are perfect for pan-frying and roasting. For soups and stews, less fatty cuts like pork shank are ideal.
In Chinese culture, pork butt is actually highly valued. Because of the perfect harmony of fat marbling and also the connective tissues in pork butt, it can endure longer hours of heat, which makes it ideal for braising and slow-cooking too. In addition, it is highly valued because of the aesthetic, sensory experience - of how it glistens, and how it has a springier, slightly chewy texture.
🐽Where do we source our pork from?
We get all our pork from two places.
First, there is Webbed Foot Pines, a small family owned and operated farm based in Michigan. We love how transparent they are, where you can visit the farm and meet the farmer directly.
In addition, we also get our pork from Sparrow Meat Market, a family owned grocery and butchery that has been operating in Ann Arbor since 1984! We have fond memories of them when we went as students more than a decade ago! To this day, they are still very customer-oriented and incredibly friendly.
🐽Do breeding conditions also affect the quality of the pork?
Absolutely. Just like we discussed in our previous posts on how we choose our eggs and butter, the conditions which the animal is raised in are very important!
Nowadays, there are pigs raised indoors who feed on a diet of corn and soybeans. In addition, there are also free-range pigs that are raised outdoors and free to roam around, roll in mud and so on. Similar to free-range chickens, they also have a diverse diet of plants, insects as well as grain. Because they are brought up in a healthier environment, the nutritional value of their meat is also higher.
In addition, the breed of the pig makes a huge difference too. The Berkshire pig for example, is known to be the Wagyu beef of pigs. Originally from England, it has now spread worldwide and is also bred in various countries including Japan. The popular kurobuta sausage that is used in Japanese hotpots are also Berkshire pigs too! It is highly sought after because of its flavorful, darker meat and its high level of marbling (fat content), which gives it a luxurious texture that instantly melts in your mouth.
Source: Heritage Berkshire Pork
There is also the Iberian pig, native to Spain and Portugal, which is famously known for its cured leg, the Jamón Ibérico. As this breed roams around oak forests and feeds on acorn during the winter months, it is this diet that gives it its unique, alluring taste.
🐽What is your favorite cut of pork?
That’s it from us! We would love to know where you get your pork from, and some of your tips on how to prepare pork-based dishes. Let us know in the comments!