Endangered recipes

Beijing Black pork is ideal for the traditional dish of sweet and sour spare ribs. [Photo:www.ce.cn]

The Beijing Black pig, a local swine breed, saw its popular take a dive 20 years ago. Right: Beijing Black pork is ideal for the traditional dish of sweet and sour spare ribs. Photo: Courtesy of Sishi Kangyuan Farm

A rumor circulated last month that the dish huiguorou (twice-cooked pork) could soon be permanently wiped off the menu of restaurants due to dwindling Chenghua pig numbers sparked panic among Chinese foodies. Fears for the endangered pig breed reignited debate about the fate of Chinese cuisine if more native livestock species and vegetables are threatened by extinction.

Such concern is rife in Beijing, where some fruits, vegetables and livestock breeds popular decades ago are now scarce.

Li Yannan, 41, has lived most of his life in Beijing. He claims the recipes of many traditional local dishes have changed due to culinary resources being either limited or deemed not as suitable as they once were.

Li highlights the case of laowogua, a species of squash that was a staple winter vegetable for many Beijingers. Laowogua was either steamed or used to make sauce by locals, Li said.

"You hardly see it at markets anymore," said Li, noting laowogua began vanishing during the 1990s when greenhouses became the main link in the commercial production chain of vegetables.

Li recalled that during his childhood the aroma of tomato-egg soup would fill his apartment building. However, cucumbers and tomatoes nowadays are not as good as the past, said Li.

Li often reminisces about the tastes of old Beijing on a QQ chat group that he moderates. The group comprises of members who are also middle-aged Beijingers. Like Li, they yearn to taste the flavors of the past again.

Black is back in pork

The Beijing Black, a local pig breed created in the early 1960s by cross-breeding the Berkshire pig from the UK with the common Chinese pig, has a striking dark coat and high ratio of intramuscular fat.

Its pork became instantly popular with Chinese diners, but was soon undercut by cheaper imported white species that yielded higher profit margins for pig raisers. By the end of the 1990s, demand for Beijing Black pork had dropped significantly.

But recent years have witnessed a revival of the rugged pig breed's meat, much to the delight of older Beijingers who savor the succulent flavor of its pork and enjoy treating their taste buds to a trip down memory lane.

Wang Jinglei first tried dishes from Beijing Black pork about three years ago at the home of an old friend, who had told her that the pork variety used to be popular but was now just a novelty. Wang was instantly hooked, recounting how the pork's higher fat content gave it a strong, distinct flavor.

"It (the pork) is especially suitable for cooking bigger portions braised in soy sauce and stewed, sometimes with prickled vegetables," said Wang, who works in the IT industry.

The disadvantage of Beijing Black pork is that it is pricy, said Li. Its average price at supermarkets is around 80 yuan ($13) per kilogram, more than four times the price of pork from white pigs, according to figures released by the Beijing Municipal Develop and Reform Commission on July 22.