Origin of Tonga seal meat;
It is said that a long time ago, there was a custom in Tongan-asking immortals to make a patrol. Every time the Buddha goes on a tour, residents along the way will cook salty porridge for bearers, believers and tourists from afar to taste. At that time, everyone was thinking: which porridge is more popular, which porridge can be blessed by God, and which porridge can prosper in the coming year. So every family tries their best to make the best porridge with the best ingredients.
In a village, there was a man whose family was very poor. He is eager to cook a pot of mouthwatering porridge like others, so that people can eat it all and have good luck. So, he sold all his possessions and only got a small square with three layers of meat. He thought that if the meat was cut into small pieces and put into porridge, it would be like gold in the sea, which could not shine and play a role. So he thought of a way: color the whole meat with soy sauce, cook it with several seasonings, and then add the cooked porridge. Suddenly, the whole piece of meat was shiny and the whole pot of porridge was full of fragrance. Everyone who saw it was full of praise. This meat is delicious! People always drink porridge bowl after bowl. Maybe it's because I'm embarrassed or I can't bear it. People never put that piece of meat in a bowl.
Strange to say, after several years of hard work, that man became a rich man and lived a happy life. People were amazed and imitated him. However, each family does the same thing, tastes the same, and can't attract people. So let's use our brains, adopt different methods, add different ingredients, and gather our wisdom. The more they cook, the better they taste. Later, people found that square meat wrapped in gauze was the best, so this method has continued to this day. Because "Fang" and "Feng" have the same pronunciation in dialects, people call "Fang Rou" Feng Rou.
Composition of Tongan seal meat:
Material: 300g pork leg with skin. Description: Fat or thin is selected according to personal preference. For the sake of beauty, it is best to cut it into circles instead of strips. Just pay attention when you buy it.
Accessories: dried chestnut (10 tablet), dried mushroom (10 tablet), dried star anise (6 tablets), dried Guangxi Pi Nuo, and dried shrimp.
Star anise and cinnamon are used for seasoning, not too much. Mushrooms, chestnuts and shrimps are increased or decreased according to personal taste, but after all, they are accessories, not too much.
Material preparation:
Wash the whole pig leg, and cut a knife on the lean meat surface for later use;
Shell chestnut, break it into two halves, and wash it for later use; Wash mushrooms, star anise, cinnamon and dried shrimps for later use;
For convenience, you can wrap the star anise and cinnamon with clean gauze, or you can leave them uncovered.
Customs of meat sealing in Tonga;
1- Put a little oil in the pot, heat it, put the pork leg face down into the pot, add a little soy sauce, and turn the pork leg over and color it. You don't need too much soy sauce. It's better to turn the meat red. Put shrimps, chestnuts and mushrooms in a pot, stir-fry for a while, add a small bowl of water and bring to a boil. Boil enough water to 3/4 of the meat.
Cease fire when 2- water reaches 1/3 bowls. Put the meat and shrimp in a big round bowl. Spread shrimps, chestnuts and mushrooms at the bottom of the bowl, turn the lean meat over and add the remaining juice from the marinating. Seal the bowl with plastic wrap, not too tight.
3- Steam the bowl in a pressure cooker for 30-40 minutes.
Remarks: If personal taste is oily, you can add more oil when marinating. You can also leave more juice, so that lean meat is easy to taste when steamed. Other accessories can be increased or decreased or replaced according to personal taste.
Features: deep red color, rancid smell, fat but not greasy, suitable for all ages.
Tonga meat sealing method 2:
Material: 300g pork leg with skin.
Note: Fat or thin is selected according to personal preference. For the sake of beauty, it is best to cut it into circles instead of strips. Just pay attention when you buy it.
Accessories: dried chestnut (10 tablet), dried mushroom (10 tablet), dried star anise (6 tablets), dried Guangxi Pi Nuo, and dried shrimp.
Star anise and cinnamon are used for seasoning, not too much. Mushrooms, chestnuts and shrimps are increased or decreased according to personal taste, but after all, they are accessories, not too much.
Material preparation:
Wash the whole pig leg, and cut a knife on the lean meat surface for later use;
Shell chestnut, break it into two halves, and wash it for later use; Wash mushrooms, star anise, cinnamon and dried shrimps for later use;
For convenience, you can wrap the star anise and cinnamon with clean gauze, or you can leave them uncovered.
Production steps:
1- Put a little oil in the pot, heat it, put the lean pork leg face down into the pot, add a little soy sauce, and turn the pork leg over and color it. There is not much soy sauce, so it is better to turn the meat red.
Put shrimps, chestnuts and mushrooms in a pot, stir-fry for a while, then add a small bowl of water and bring to a boil. The amount of water should be enough to cover three-quarters of the meat.
2- Wait until the water reaches about 1/3 bowls, cease fire, and move the meat and shrimp into the big round bowl.
Spread the shrimps, chestnuts and mushrooms on the bottom of the bowl, pour the lean meat face down on it and add the remaining juice. Seal the bowl with plastic wrap, not too tight.
3- Steam the bowl in a pressure cooker for 30-40 minutes.
Remarks: If personal taste is oily, you can add more oil when marinating. You can also leave more juice, so that lean meat is easy to taste when steamed. Other accessories can be increased or decreased or replaced according to personal taste. )
Allusions to Tonga meat seals:
"Tongan seal meat" is a large piece of pork leg meat weighing 35 Jin, mixed with dried oysters, mushrooms, lotus seeds, shrimp skin and other condiments. It is called "seal meat" because it is wrapped in soy sauce, wrapped in gauze towels, covered with cages and cooked, and then served.
There is an interesting story about "sealing meat in Tongan": Lin Xiyuan (1482- 1567), a famous official of Tongan Neo-Confucianism, gave a lecture in Guangdong during Zheng De's reign in the Ming Dynasty. Before he was admitted to the Jinshi, he worked as a private school teacher in Yuekou Village outside Tongan South Gate. Usually I like to try "Tongan meat seal", but because there is a fence at home, I have to cut wood (chicken legs) and soak in soy sauce to satisfy my hunger. In the twelfth year of Zheng De in the Ming Dynasty (15 17), Lin Xiyuan passed the imperial examination and returned to China dressed in gold. The squires soon arranged a luxurious banquet to welcome him. During the dinner, Lin Xiyuan just tasted the sea cucumber, shark's fin and delicacies on the table, and seemed to stop there. When the squires saw this, they all became nervous because they thought there was something wrong with their hospitality. They quickly picked up the harpoon meat and raised their glasses. At this time, Lin Xiyuan suddenly asked: "Why is there no' sealed meat' dish?" The squires were at a loss for a moment and thought they had heard wrong. It turned out that the "meat seal" at that time was delicious, but it was too vulgar to be a big scene. Fortunately, the host used his quick wits and said, "Now' sealing meat' has become a famous dish in his hometown, and the last dish is pressing the table." While hastily ordering people to get ready.
Since then, "meat seal" has moved from ordinary folk dishes to festive wedding banquets.