Beef Croquettes (Bagadel Cabe)
Cubed Beef Tenderloin with Basil
Pork in a Spicy Taro-Coconut Sauce (Pork Laing) with Smoked Scads
Wuxi Ribs with Blanched Spinach
Humba-Style Braised Pork Belly
Stir-Fried Smoked Pork with Fresh Bamboo Shoots
ASIANS HAVE thousands of recipes for beef, goat, lamb and pork. No matter how the meats are cooked, they will be served cut up and, quite often, bone-in. If you wander the meat markets of Asia (or the meat section of Asian supermarkets in North America), you’ll find oxtails, shanks, piles of briskets, tenderloins and flank steaks, which are the best cuts for pan-frying or stir-frying. And, of course, strips of honeycomb-patterned tripe, plump red hearts and smooth, tender livers.
In Asia, goat is as popular as lamb. Both are used in India, where Hindus consider the cow sacred and so don’t eat beef. Goat is usually braised, as in the Nepalese Goat Curry, until the meat falls off the bone and melts in your mouth. In North America, look for fresh or frozen goat meat in Indian, Chinese and halal meat shops. Lamb is often served as a chop in India but rarely elsewhere. Try the Pondicherry Minted Lamb Chops, or visit the Richmond or Chinatown night markets to taste lamb skewers grilled over open fires and served smoking hot.
Except for Muslims, who avoid pork, Asians don’t leave any part of the pig to waste. From the head to the trotters, eating the whole animal is a sign of the highest respect for the life it sacrificed to become food for humans. Try the traditional Chinese Roasted Crispy-Skin Pork, which is rubbed with five-spice powder and galangal and slow cooked for hours, or try the Humba-Style Braised Pork Belly, a festive Filipino dish simmered with ginger and garlic, chilies and star anise and served with banana flowers.