Pork is the most common meat we consume. It can be used in soups, stir-fried, or steamed, and it can be paired with many vegetables. However, many people don't know that pork also has taboos; there are four types of vegetables that should not be eaten with pork.
1. Beef
The saying that pork and beef should not be eaten together has a long history. "Yin Zheng Yao" points out: "Pork should not be eaten with beef."
This is mainly for two reasons: First, from the perspective of Chinese medicinal food properties, pork is sour and cold, with a greasy and yin-natured character, while beef is sweet and warm, tonifying the spleen and stomach, strengthening the waist and legs, and has the effect of stabilizing the middle and replenishing qi. Second, one is warm and the other is cold; one tonifies the spleen and stomach, while the other is greasy and weakens the body.
2. Sheep Liver
Traditional Chinese medicine says: "Eating pork with sheep liver causes heart stuffiness." Sheep liver has a bitter and cold nature, and its main effects are related to the liver and improving vision, treating liver wind and deficiency-heat. Pork is greasy and generates damp-heat in the stomach. In terms of medicinal food properties, the combination is not suitable.
3. Soybeans
Soybeans are a very common vegetable, but they contain high levels of phytic acid, which can easily form complexes with proteins and mineral elements, thereby affecting the availability of both and reducing their utilization efficiency. The main component of pork is protein. If cooked together, it will reduce the utilization rate of protein.
4. Cilantro
Cilantro, also known as coriander, can remove gamey smells and goes well with lamb. Cilantro is pungent and warm, which consumes qi and harms the spirit. Pork is greasy, promoting damp-heat and generating phlegm. Ancient books record: "All meats have nourishing properties, except for pork, which has none." One consumes qi, while the other has no nourishing properties; therefore, consuming them together is harmful to the body.