Cooked pork bones are not only delicious but also nutritious, making them a common sight on dining tables. With so many different names for pork bones in the market, it can be confusing how to cook them. Let me teach you.
There are four common types of pork bones that people often eat. These include ribs, spine bones, shoulder blades, and leg bones. Pork ribs, also known as pork spare ribs or pork back ribs, are flat, plate-like ribs located in the chest cavity, mostly consisting of lean meat with a tender texture. Pork spine bones, also called pork backbones or dragon bones, are from the spinal column. They are lean with little fat but contain a large amount of soft, fatty marrow. Pork shoulder blades are located on the pig's back, below the shoulder. Because the front is crescent-shaped, they are also called pork fan bones or pork moon bones, and are characterized by having more cartilage. Pork leg bones have a hole in the middle and are also called tube bones. Generally, hind leg bones are thicker and stronger than front leg bones, contain more marrow, and are of better quality.
Ribs are suitable for sweet and sour cooking. Pork ribs are ideal for refined cooking methods such as braising in soy sauce, sweet and sour, or electric roasting. Sweet and sour ribs are especially recommended because the large amount of vinegar used during 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 ribs. The method for making sweet and sour ribs is: cut the pork ribs into small pieces, place them in a pot of cold water, and when the water comes 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 the heat to low and simmer for about 1 hour. Then, remove the ribs, drain the water, and set aside a small bowl of the broth for later use. Heat oil in a wok, add sugar and stir-fry until a caramel color is achieved. Add the ribs and stir-fry until they are evenly colored. Then add cooking wine, soy sauce, and vinegar. Pour in the reserved broth, turn the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Finally, increase the heat to high to reduce the sauce. Once the sauce has thickened, pour a little vinegar along the edge of the wok. After cooking, sprinkle with white sesame seeds. Large pork bones are suitable for making soup.
Larger bones like spine bones, shoulder blades, and leg bones are recommended for making soup. The key to a good bone broth is using a variety of ingredients. Adding ingredients like yams, corn, kelp, radish, lotus root, winter melon, and mushrooms will make the broth more flavorful and nutritious. It is worth noting that bone broth 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.