Sour pork a unique food of Muong people in Phu Tho

Sour pork – a specialty of Thanh Son district, Phu Tho province. (Source: thitchuadatto.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) - According to old villagers, the land used to be rich in wild boars which yielded some really great meat. Hoping to preserve the food, they invented the method of adding salt and roasted corn powder which give the meat a sour taste as a result of fermentation.

Prepared from locally available ingredients, the specialty has become a popular dish in household meals. It is highly valued for its taste, but the origin of the unique dish is known only to very few.

According to old Muong villagers, the land used to be rich in wild boars which yielded flavourful meat. Hoping to preserve the food, they invented the method of adding some salt and roasted corn powder which give the meat a sour taste as a result of fermentation.

The meat is cut into large chunks, and then placed into jars or even bamboo tubes with some salt, roasted corn powder and spices added. It becomes sour as a result of fermentation and plays the “noble role” of a reserve food “for a rainy day”, attesting to the unique creativeness of Muong locals in Thanh Son.

The meat has now been modified with various methods and spices into a mouth-watering dish served around the country. Not only served in daily meals, it has also become indispensable for parties.

Phu Tho is not the only locality to produce the sour meat, as the way to process it is simple and materials largely available. But people agree that the product prepared by the Muong people in Phu Tho is the best. Coming to Thanh Son, it is not hard for visitors to find shops selling the meat lining the highway or even in supermarkets and restaurants.

71-year-old Dinh Van Hoa of the Muong ethnic group, a resident of Kha Cuu commune, Thanh Son district, said he cannot remember the exact time when the meat came into being. He was told this way of preserving the meat by his forefathers.

Also according to him, the dish is often prepared for the traditional lunar New Year from local free-ranging pigs. Pork is cut into large chunks, and a layer of a mixture made from salt and cold rice is applied to them. The meat is then put into tightly covered jars placed near a cooking stove and covered with ash.

Sour meat is an indispensable and mouth-watering dish in parties. (Source: thitchuadatto.vn)

Chairman of Kha Cuu commune People’s Committee Bui Ngoc Ha said the typical meat of the local Muong people used to be served within households but has now become a commodity known far and wide, helping to popularise the traditional cultural identity of the Muong people.

Sa Thi Tam, a Muong local in Kim Thuong commune, Tan Son district, is known as a master in preparing the meat. In her opinion, the most suitable pigs for the best meat should be 25-30kg, fed with vegetables and bran, not industrial feeds.

Slaughtered, the pigs are put into fire for some time until the skin turns yellow. Roasted corn powder is an indispensable ingredient in making the meat. Mixed with the powder, the meat is then pressed into bamboo tubes which are blocked with guava leaves – a factor that keeps the meat from becoming rotten. The tubes must be airtight to help fermentation.

Phu Tho specialty offered to customers. (Photo: thitchuadatto.vn)

According to the Agriculture and Rural Development Office of Thanh Son district, the locality counts nearly 40 establishments producing the meat which has become a key traditional and typical product of comparative advantage. Authorities have selected the meat to build it into a product of the One Commune One Product programme.

For a long time, “sour meat” has become the first mouthwatering word mentioned by visitors to Phu Tho when it comes to enjoying unique food and the local specialty./.