Thịt đông, also known as thịt nấu đông, is an aspic (meat jelly) from the Northern region of Vietnam. It is traditionally made and served in the winter, especially for Tết, since the low temperatures of this season allow the aspic to set. Similarly, aspics like this are common in many other cultures with cold winters, especially Eastern European.
While thịt đông is still mainly eaten around Lunar New Year, nowadays, it can be made and enjoyed year-round thanks to modern refrigeration. In fact, it is a great choice for a cooling meal during hot summer days, just like Japanese or Korean cold noodle dishes!
The main ingredients for this dish are pork (mainly ham hock, along with pork rind or ears), wood-ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. The collagen from the skin is what allows the aspic to solidify and retain its shape. You can also make a chicken version with certain types of chicken that have a thick skin or with the help of gelatin.
A clear broth is extremely important for this dish, as it allows all the ingredients to be visible in the final result. This means slow-and-low simmering of the pork and frequent skimming of impurities and fats. It takes some patience, but all is worth it when you flip your thịt đông out of the mold and are greeted by the sight of a beautiful crystal clear aspic. A well-made thịt đông, without a doubt, adds wow factor to your Tết dinner table.
The flavors of this dish are simple and umami with a fun variety of textures: the gelatinous broth, the soft meat, the chewy pork rind, and crunchy wood-ear mushrooms. It is best served with steaming hot rice and dưa muối (pickled mustard greens). Adding a piece on top of the hot rice melts the broth just a little bit and the contrast between the temperature of the aspic and rice make for a delightful combination.
A close relative to thịt đông that is also commonly served for Tết is giò thủ - Vietnamese headcheese, a cold cut made with pork belly, pig ears, and mushrooms.
INGREDIENTS FOR THỊT ĐÔNG
- Pork hock - Giò heo: Commonly not considered a prime cut, it is the main ingredient for this dish. The abundance of thick skin and tendons (and therefore natural gelatin) in this piece makes it ideal for creating an aspic. My favorite recipe using pork hock is probably Bánh canh giò heo.
- Pork rind (skin) or ears - Da/tai heo: Both of these parts contain the necessary collagen to help set the aspic. It is up to your personal preference. The skin is soft and slightly chewy, whereas the ear is mainly made up of cartilage and would be crunchy.
- Shiitake mushrooms - Nấm hương/Nấm đông cô: These incredibly fragrant mushrooms are a staple in Vietnamese cuisine. The combination of pork, wood-ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms are in more Vietnamese dishes than I can count, like Nem rán, Đậu hũ nhồi thịt, Bánh đúc nóng, and so many more.
- Wood-ear mushrooms - Mộc nhĩ/Nấm tai mèo: They don’t bring too much in terms of flavors, but texturally, they are irreplaceable. Crunchy and a bit chewy, wood-ear mushrooms add textural interest, especially to a meaty filling, which is why the trio of wood-ear, shiitake, and minced pork is such a common filling found in many dishes.
- Carrot - Cà rốt: The carrot slices are not an integral part of this dish, but they add to the presentation- especially since the rest of the ingredients are only different shades of brown!
- White onion - Hành tây: Used in parboiling the pork to eliminate any odor.
- Ginger - Gừng: Same as above.
- Shallot - Hành khô/Hành tím
- Garlic - Tỏi
- Whole black peppercorns - Tiêu đen nguyên hạt
- Salt - Muối
- Fish sauce - Nước mắm: arguably the most important seasoning sauce in Vietnamese cuisine. Made from fermented anchovies, it is salty and incredibly umami. Non-vegan Vietnamese recipes without fish sauce are very rare. The best nước mắm comes from Phú Quốc or surrounding islands off the coast- Southwest of mainland Vietnam. Our favorite brand available outside of Vietnam is Red Boat (U.S.).
- Bouillon - Hạt nêm: think broth, but in solid form. Bouillon is an amazingly easy way to bring that umami flavor to your food. We use it instead of salt in many of our dishes. You can usually find chicken, pork, or mushroom bouillon. In Vietnam, Knorr is the most common brand. However, we have only been able to find Knorr in powder form in the US and France, not granules. Instead, we use Totole brand chicken or mushroom bouillon. The quantities on our website are based on the granule-type so if you use powder, adjust to your taste.
- Ground black pepper - Tiêu đen xay
- Vegetable oil - Dầu thực vật
DIRECTIONS FOR THỊT ĐÔNG
- Using the flat of a knife, smash the ginger.
- In a pot, add pork hock and skin/ear along with the smashed ginger and all other ingredients from the Parboiling pork section and enough water to cover.
- Bring to a boil on medium high, reduce heat to medium and let boil for 3 minutes.
- Strain and rinse the pork well, discarding the onion and ginger.
- Cut the pork hock and skin into bite-sized pieces, about 2-3 cm. If using ears, thinly slice.
- Add the pork to a bowl, along with fish sauce, salt, and ground black pepper from the Pork marinade section. Mix well and let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Add the shiitake and wood-ear mushrooms to a heat-proof bowl and pour in enough boiling water to cover. Let sit to dehydrate.
- Peel carrot. To make the flower slices, score 5 shallow lines (4 if the carrot is small) equidistant from one another into the carrot lengthwise. Cut each line into a v-shape trench by cutting towards the line at 45° angle on either side. Once all the trenches are done, slice the carrot crosswise into coins/flowers around 2mm thick.
- Once the mushrooms have fully rehydrated, strain, and rinse.
- Cut wood-ear mushrooms into 2-3cm pieces. If your shiitake mushrooms have stems, trim them off. If the mushrooms are big, you can slice them in half.
- Thinly slice shallot and garlic.
- Toast the peppercorns in a pan for 1 minute on medium low. Gently crush using a mortar and pestle.
- Once the meat is done marinating, heat a pan on medium with vegetable oil (Sautéing mushrooms section).
- Add mushrooms and fish sauce (Sautéing mushrooms section). Sauté for 2 minutes then pour into a bowl and set aside.
- Add more oil (Sautéing pork section) to the pan, then shallot and garlic. Sauté on medium low for 1 minute, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and discard.We want to flavor the oil with the garlic and shallot, but do not want to add them in the aspic because they would become mushy.
- If your pan looks dry, add in a bit of extra oil and add the pork (do not pour in any extra liquid that came from the pork while marinating).
- Sauté on medium for 3 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Place a pot on the stove. To the pot, add the sautéed pork and water (Broth section).
- Bring to boil on medium, skimming off any impurities and fat that forms on the surface.
- Reduce heat to low, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and simmer for 20 minutes. Continue to skim off any impurities and fat throughout the process.The more carefully you skim the broth, the clearer your final product will be.
- Add the shiitake and wood-ear mushrooms, stir to combine, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Keep skimming.
- Season to taste (if needed), remove from heat, and let sit on the counter to cool to room temperature.
- In a silicone mold or glass/ceramic bowl (see Notes), arrange a few carrot flower slices at the bottom.
- Choose a few nice-looking pieces of pork and mushrooms to place inbetween the carrot slices. This helps space out the carrot flowers and since we’ll eventually flip this, these nice pieces will end up at the top of the aspic.
- Spoon the rest of the pork and mushrooms from the pot into the mold/bowl, sprinkling in the peppercorns as you go.
- Once all the solids have been added to the mold/bowl, strain in the broth through a sieve. This will help us get an even cleaner aspic. You want the broth to fully or at least partially cover the pork and mushrooms at the top.
- Cover with food-wrap or a plate and put into the fridge to set for 4-5 hours.
- To de-mold: place mold/bowl in warm water for a few minutes and run the tip of a small knife along the edge. I shake the bowl gently- you will be able to hear when the aspic has loosened from the bowl enough.
- Place a plate over the top of the bowl and flip over. Shake it a bit more if the thịt đông has not slid out onto the plate.
- Remove the bowl and serve.
