Ninh Sop Lai Chau Dried Pork – A Unique Flavor of the Northwest

Dried pork is a long-standing traditional dish of the Thai people in Lai Chau, with the spicy taste of chili and ginger, the aroma of garlic, and mac khen permeating each piece of meat dried on the stove for many hours. This uniqueness has created a memorable specialty of the Northwest region. In particular, Ninh Sop dried pork has recently been honored as the only typical specialty of Lai Chau province in the Top typical Vietnamese cuisine phase I-2022. What makes this dish so famous?

Dried pork is a long-standing traditional dish of the Thai people, often indispensable during Tet holidays. With the aroma of meat, the spicy taste of typical spices, this dish is rich and irresistible. Eat it once and you will want to eat it many more times. Dried pork not only brings the special flavor of the dish, but also reminds us of the air and breath of the wild and majestic Northwest mountains and forests.

The ethnic people in the Northwest region are especially fond of grilled dishes, especially dried meat. Dried pork is one of such specialties. Ninh Sop dried pork in Lai Chau is made from the freshest pieces of wild black pigs. The processing is completely manual, strictly following procedures such as carefully selecting ingredients, usually muscle meat or tenderloin.

The meat is cut into pieces about 10cm wide, 15cm long and 2-3cm thick. Before drying, the meat is marinated with a mixture of spices such as mac khen, ginger, lemongrass, chili, doi seeds and white wine for about 1 hour, then hung on the stove to smoke.

According to the local people, the drying process is one of the important steps to create delicious dried meat. The fire must be just enough, not too big to avoid the meat being burnt on the outside and not cooked on the inside. The fire must be kept far away, the daily smoke from the firewood and straw will help the meat pieces to be drier, tastier and prevent bacteria from entering.

The dried meat is popular because the meat is selected from free-range pigs, then marinated with typical spices and smoked with wood stoves, creating a unique flavor of this land. The finished dried pork has a smooth, shiny red-brown color on the outside, and each fiber of meat is fresh pink and sweet.

Dried meat can be eaten immediately or stored for a long time while still retaining its flavor. When eating, it is usually grilled or steamed to make the meat softer, hotter and more fragrant. Then, using a wooden pestle, pound it, tear it into small pieces and dip it in chili sauce to enjoy the whole flavor of the Northwest.

The rich dried meat can also be combined with bamboo rice to create a wonderful flavor. The fragrant sticky bamboo rice blends with the rich dried meat, really delicious. Especially in the cold winter weather, sitting by the red fire, enjoying each piece of meat, dipping it in spicy chili sauce, the feeling of warmth spreads throughout the body.

In addition to the original way of eating to keep the full flavor of dried pork, Ninh Sop dried pork can also be processed into many other delicious dishes. Stir-fried dried pork with wild bamboo shoots is a suggestion worth trying. The method is also very simple: Dip the pork in water, tear into strips. Blanch fresh wild bamboo shoots in boiling water for about 5 minutes then tear into small strips. Heat the pan, add a little cooking oil (not much because the pork will release fat), add dried pork and stir well, then add wild bamboo shoots and stir-fry until cooked, add chili to taste. If you have Cheo dipping sauce, adding it will make the stir-fried dried pork with bamboo shoots more delicious, rich in its characteristic flavor.

Ninh Sop dried pork is a typical culinary specialty of Lai Chau. This dish can be prepared simply to enjoy the original flavor or stir-fried with bamboo shoots and eaten with hot rice, which is also very interesting. This season, throughout the Northwest, the smoke and fog seem to hang over the entire sky, the wind gradually whistles through the bamboo walls. Sitting by a cozy meal, enjoying dried pork, sipping a few cups of corn wine is truly wonderful.

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