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| Mangalica Pork on Rice Vermicelli |
A mangalica pig is a curious creature. It is a lard pig, fat and round, with a long, sheep-like, woolly coat. Yes, a lard pig. Fat and round. With a woolly coat. Like this :
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| Retrieved 28 Feb 2015 from the Zoo Chat website (http://www.zoochat.com/150/blonde-mangalitsa-149503/) |
These pigs used to be the predominant breed in Hungary till the 1950s. They were tolerant of the harsh winters, and were originally bred for the tables of the Austro-Hungrian emperors. At one time, it was the most popular pig breed in Hungary. The pigs took a full year to reach slaughter weight, and much of that weight is fat. Under communism is nearly disappeared altogether. Today, the breed is making a comeback. The well marbled meat is totally delicious. In Singapore, the meat is carried by butchers like Huber’s.
Of course, if you are going to cook Mangalica, you need to know what to do with all that glorious, snow white fat. You are NOT going to cut it off and bin it. The Mangalica porkchops I got from Huber’s had a thick cap of fat. Here is one recipe idea that makes good use of every glorious morsel, and pays tribute to the Mangalica’s original role as a lard pig.
Ingredients and Prep
One Mangalica chop per person
75 to 100 grams rice vermicelli per person
A little red wine
A tablespoon oyster sauce
A knob butter
Salt, pepper.
Trim the fat off the chops, and cute into 1 cm dice. Season the pork chips with salt, and pepper, and other herbs and spices if you desire. I used some shichimi togarashi in this case (Japanese Seven Spice Powder).
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| Trim off the fat, and season the chops |
You are now mise en place.
Cook
Boil water and soak vermicelli.
Set a frypan on medium low heat, adding a tiny bit of oil. Gently fry the pork chops in the pan. This will take about 15 minutes. It needs some attention with regular stirring, and cannot be rushed. The fat cutes will render an astounding amount of fat, and the cubes themselves turn a beautiful golden brown. Pay close attention as they take on a light brown hue. The window between beautiful, crispy fat cubes and burnt is a narrow one.
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| Crispy cubes of pork fat, swimming in their own oil |
While you were frying the pork cubes. You must remember the vermicelli, and drain it when it is just soft. When the pork fat is ready, turn the heat off. Pour the drained noodles into the pan. This will stop the cubes burning. The vermicelli will soak up the glorious pork oil.
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| In goes the vermicelli |
Give the vermicelli a stir, or a toss. Check taste. The delicious pork oil should make this tasty enough. If you find it too blanch, a little fish sauce will wake the taste buds.
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| Vermicelli, coated in pork fat |
Plate the vermicelli out. It could be a good ten minutes before you are ready, so keep the plates of vermicelli warm
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| Plate, and keep warm. and yes, the fried pork fat should take pride of place. |
Turn the heat back on pan, adding a little oil, if needed. When the pan is just smoking, pan fry the chops. In this case, I let them sit on their edges to crisp the remaining fat.
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| Crisping the fat edge. |
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| Pigs in the pan |
The chops should cook quickly, I constantly check, prodding them with my finger to make sure they are cooked till just firm. The heat should be hight enough to get a good crust. Its ok to flip as many times as needed, or just turn once.
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| Pork Chops, nice and seared. |
When they are just firm to the touch, they are done. Set them to rest for a few minutes.
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| Almost ready! |
During this time, deglaze the pan with red wine, and stir in some oyster sauce, along with a few tablespoons of water. Check the taste, and adjust as needed. Allow sauce to reduce a little, then stir in a knob of butter to thicken. Turn heat off.
Next, slice grilled pork chops. I like them with a good crust, but still a light pink on the inside. Pink and juicy.
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| Pork, glorious pork |
Plate the chops and spoon over the sauce.
Plate, assemble, garnish and enjoy. The sauce is delicious scooped over the vermicelli. Enjoy this meal, then plan a jog the next day. About 20 kilometers should be sufficient to burn the fat off.
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| Enjoy now, run tomorrow. |
