Pigs eating spirulina, pigs bathing in green tea: Rare goods in high demand during Tet
Spirulina pigs, green tea pigs, earthworm pigs, herbs or Spanish black pigs are extremely popular during the Lunar New Year, because they are said to have many nutritional values and a special delicious flavor.
As Lunar New Year approaches, along with spending a lot of money on expensive foreign candies and cakes, and searching for new and unique dishes, many Vietnamese families are also willing to spend a large amount of money to buy imported pork or pork raised using special methods to ensure delicious taste and safety for Tet.
Below are the types of pork that are often in high demand and out of stock during the Lunar New Year:
Spanish Iberico Black Pig
Raised naturally on pastures with the main food being acorns, olives and cardamom, black pork originating from the land of bulls is classified as a high-class, super expensive food when its price is up to 1 million VND/kg of tenderloin and 400,000-500,000 VND/kg of pork ribs.
Spanish black pork does not need to be ordered in advance because it is always available in stores. But as Tet approaches, the demand for black Iberico pork suddenly skyrockets, and many people have to fight to buy a few kilos of meat to store and eat gradually.
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| Spanish pork has a unique, distinctive flavor. |
In addition, salted Iberico hams are also in vogue, even sold out even though the cheapest one is priced at 8.5 million VND/piece. For the premium type, rich Vietnamese people have to spend up to 25 million VND for a salted Iberico ham weighing 8-10 kg. Not only that, to have a piece of fatty, smooth, rich pork with a unique salty taste to sip with wine during Tet, buyers have to order a month in advance.
Spirulina-enriched pigs
Not as expensive as imported pork, with the characteristic of fragrant, crispy fat, sweet lean meat, clear broth that can be used immediately without having to be thrown away, spirulina pork is extremely popular with consumers, sought after during the Lunar New Year even though the price is twice as expensive as American beef brisket, 4-5 times more expensive than pork fed industrial feed in the market.
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| Spirulina pork has fragrant, crispy fat, rich in nutrients. |
Accordingly, during the process of raising from breastfeeding to selling, a pig is supplemented with 280 spirulina tablets, priced at 15,000 VND/tablet to burn fat, help firm the pork, eliminate toxins, and increase resistance.
In addition, the pig's feed is a mixture of corn, soybeans, fish, golden apple snails, earthworms, without using growth stimulants, the rearing time is longer than usual, so the price of spirulina pork is from 350,000 VND/kg. The finished pork is guaranteed to be clean, nutritious, and has a special delicious taste. In order to avoid shortages when buying retail, many families invite each other to order a whole spirulina pig to enjoy during Tet.
Pigs eat green tea, bathe in green tea
Similar to Spirulina pork, green tea pork is also a "made in Vietnam" product that is delicious, nutritious, clean, and has a similar price. To have a soft, firm, fatty pork that is not greasy, in addition to being raised organically, only fed corn bran, rice bran, soybeans, a little fish meal and natural vegetables, during the entire raising process from young to selling, the pigs are fed green tea, drink green tea water and bathe in boiled green tea leaves every day.
This secret helps pigs reduce stress, reduce the risk of disease, burn excess fat for pigs, the meat is not only delicious but the pork skin is also chewy, the broth is fragrant, clear and not cloudy.
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| Green tea pork is many times more expensive than pork fed industrial feed. |
Because they are raised without stimulants or growth hormones, green tea pigs gain weight slowly, and take 7-8 months to be sold, twice the time it takes to raise industrial pigs. Therefore, each kilogram of green tea pork costs three times more, for example, pork belly costs nearly 300,000 VND/kg, rump costs 270,000 VND/kg.
Some foreign hotels and supermarkets continuously ask to order but cannot because supply cannot meet demand, so individual customers who want to buy green tea pork for Tet have to wait in line to buy it.
Earthworm pig
With a fragrant, sweet taste, firm meat, and not too dry when boiled, earthworm pork has been extremely popular in recent years, especially near the Lunar New Year. According to the owner of the earthworm pig farm in Soc Son, the secret to making earthworm pork so delicious is that the pigs are raised completely without using industrial feed.
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| Earthworm pigs have been popular for many years. |
In addition to feeding pigs corn bran, beer dregs, and vegetables to ensure extremely clean pigs, every day, she and her workers also catch tens of thousands of earthworms to feed the pigs, so that the pigs can absorb the high amount of protein in the worms as well as give the meat a delicious and attractive flavor.
When this type of meat first became available, many families who wanted to buy it had to order it half a year in advance. Now, although it is no longer so rare, buyers still have to order half a month in advance to ensure they have earthworm pork for Tet.
