Cooking Competition Introduces U.S. Pork to Shanghai Chefs

Thirty top chefs from Shanghai, China, matched wits and their most creative pork recipes in a head-to-head cook-off recently as they immersed themselves in a USMEF-China competition utilizing U.S. pork.

Drawn from Shanghai’s hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) sectors, the competitors included several master chefs. All were challenged to create one hot and one cold dish utilizing boneless U.S. pork loin, bone-in pork ribs or bone-in pork butt for the event, which was implemented with funding from the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) and the Pork Checkoff.

Shanghai's master chefs cooked U.S. pork dishes in USMEF's cooking competition

“Not only did this competition encourage creativity in the development of innovative new recipes, but it introduced U.S. pork to some influential chefs who had never used it before,” said Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asia-Pacific region. “The feedback we received was extremely positive regarding both the taste and texture of U.S. pork.”

Haggard noted that the chefs developed a number of creative menu ideas that they shared amongst themselves, ranging from Western-style dishes to traditional Chinese fare, including Shanghai-specific cuisine. Entries ranged from sweet and sour spareribs and sautéed pork with mixed vegetables to miso pork boneless loin and fusion dishes.

The winning chefs and their dishes were:

• “Roasted bone-in CT butt with three-steps tasty sauce” and “Steamed bone-in pork butt with special sauce” from Mr. Shen Xian Bin of CareBay Maternity Care Center
• “Walnut & pork meat ball” and “Pork roll with vegetable” from Mr. Lin Zhen of the Shanghai Yuan Mao Yuan Hotel
• “Boneless pork butt with organic vegetable” and “Pork steak with scallion” from Mr. Xu Zhao Ping of Shanghai’s Xi Tian You Hotel.

“The chefs loved the competition and appreciated the opportunity to exchange cooking ideas,” said Haggard. “USMEF took advantage of the opportunity to provide an education session on a wide variety of U.S. pork cuts, including brisket bones, CT butt, tenderloin, spareribs, center-cut loins, back ribs and boneless loins.”

Even though U.S. pork exports to the China/Hong Kong region are off slightly this year, it remains the No. 3 market for exports through the first six months of 2013. Totals for the first half of the year are 203,168 metric tons (447.9 million pounds) valued at $433.5 million.