So, this may be a stupid question, but here goes:
I have only recently realized that the Chinese sort of "pink" meat (as in chunks of pork and very occasionally chicken died a bright fuchsia color) is actually a kind of food available in Asia, and not just the purview of pork fried rice in American-style Peking China Buffet restaurants.
You can get whole slabs of it that look deep-fried, chicken-style, but hot pink. You can get sticks of it, little chunks of hot pink grilled pork. This is available basically all over Taiwan.
It's pretty tasty. I am fairly sure the pink comes from a specific flavoring process, as it has a semi-distinctive taste. A little sweet. Or maybe they just like pink meat.
So...what's up with that?
channamasala
1
tribolite
Any pics? I am quite intrigued.Sure its not the usual strips or chunks of red/orangy coloured "char siew" and roast pork that hangs on hooks on display in Chinese food stores and resturants?
3
channamasala
It's probably very similar. I do not have personal pics but let me hunt down something on Google.
like this
Sort of. But that's more of a pink sausage. It's about that color though. I can't find a picture of what I mean, but if you've ever had cheap pork fried rice at, you know, Szechuan Garden Delicacy Palace in Duluth or whatever, it is the same color as those tiny cubes of pink pork, only much bigger and cooked in different ways.
5
tribolite
From the pics it looks quite similar to the stuff readily and cheaply available in Malaysia in the local Chinese hawkers stores in KL and Penang selling "yak fan" or rice with "char siew",roast pork,sausages and roast duck.The liver sausages are delicious.The gravy is usually brown and made with a mixture of Chinese five spice powder,fermented soya bean paste,ginger,pepper salt and sugar and thickened with corn starch. I think the pink colour is most probably another version of the more common red/orange artificial colouring which is also used for the other barbecued pork, duck or chicken.The dip is usually chilli sauce with ginger paste,viniger,salt,sugar and soya sauce.
6
nutraxfornerves
Like this? That one was the result of NOH Chinese Barbecue Seasoning Mix. Made from scratch marinade for char siu often include red food coloring. Even if they didn't, as a result of the marinade, the exterior of the food becomes somewhat reddish when exposed to smoke. The food coloring just exaggerates that. From a blog "Most places that make char sui now use red food dye in their marinades to give the meat its characteristic cerise hue, which connotes good fortune and luck."
7
fieldgate
There is Danish salami (sausage) in supermarkets in Sweden that is pink in colour. For me personally it's a bit off-putting so I don't buy it. I trust in natural colours.
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