Cooked pork bones are not only delicious but also nutritious, making them a staple on the dining table. The market offers a variety of names for pork bones, which can be confusing when it comes to cooking. Let me teach you.
There are four common types of pork bones that people often eat. These include ribs, backbones, shoulder blades, and leg bones. Pork ribs, also known as pork spare ribs or pork ribs, are flat ribs located in the chest cavity, mostly consisting of lean meat with a tender texture. The pork backbone, also called pork back bones, is the bone from the spine. It has lean meat and little fat but contains a large amount of soft, fatty marrow. The pork shoulder blade is located on the pig's back, below the shoulder. Due to its crescent-shaped front, it is also called a pork fan bone or pork moon bone, and it is characterized by having more cartilage. The pork leg bone has a hole in the middle and is also known as a tube bone. Generally, the hind leg bone is thicker and stronger than the front leg bone, contains a large amount of marrow, and is of better quality.
Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs
Ribs are suitable for sweet and sour cooking. Pork ribs are suitable for refined cooking, such as braised in soy sauce, sweet and sour, or grilled. Sweet and sour spare ribs are particularly recommended because the large amount of vinegar used in cooking can soften calcium salts, making them easier for the human body to digest and absorb. Even drinking bone soup cannot match the calcium-supplementing effect of eating sweet and sour spare ribs. The method for making sweet and sour spare ribs is: cut the pork ribs into small pieces, place them in a pot of cold water, bring the water to a boil, skim off the foam, add scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, a little salt, and a few drops of vinegar. Turn to low heat and simmer for about 1 hour. Then, remove the ribs, drain the water, and set aside a small bowl of the broth. Heat oil in a wok, add sugar and stir-fry until the caramel color develops. Add the ribs and stir-fry until they are colored. Add cooking wine, soy sauce, and vinegar. Pour in the reserved broth, turn to low heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Then, turn the heat up to high to reduce the sauce. Once the sauce has thickened, pour a little vinegar along the edge of the wok. After serving, sprinkle with white sesame seeds.
White Radish and Pork Bone Soup
Large pork bones are suitable for making soup. "Large" bones like backbones, shoulder blades, and leg bones are recommended for stewing. The key to making a good bone soup is to use a variety of ingredients. Adding ingredients like yams, corn, seaweed, radish, lotus root, winter melon, and mushrooms will make the bone soup more flavorful and nutritious. It is worth noting that bone soup contains a lot of saturated fat but is not high in calcium; its calcium-supplementing effect is far less than that of milk. The marrow in large bones contains a lot of cholesterol, so you can eat it, but not too much.