Pig blood curd (), also known as "blood tofu" or "blood pudding" (), is a popular Cantonese delicacy in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

southern China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. It is commonly served with carbohydrates, such as

noodles Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Indo ...

congee Congee or conjee ( ) is a type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries. It can be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most o ...

Background

Pig blood curd originated from blood rice pudding () in southern China. Blood rice pudding is a pastry made from blood and rice grains. Rice is the main ingredient of southern Chinese cuisine; the two common methods to cook rice are steaming and boiling. Duck meat is a source of supplement (), however, because of the poor living conditions in the past, poultry was only offered as sacrifices in Chinese festivals. In order to get nutrition from the ducks, farmers saved the blood, steamed it with rice, and served it with sauce. Later, blood rice pudding spread to neighboring towns and villages, and people named it duck blood pudding (). However, because of the rising price of duck, and the inability of chicken blood to coagulate into pudding, pig blood replaced duck blood, resulting in the birth of pig blood curd.Wilson J. Warren Meat Makes People Powerful: A Global History of the Modern Era University of Iowa Press, 2018.

Preparation

Pig blood curd is solid pig blood. Manufacturers coagulate fresh blood by letting it sit in a clean container for around 10 minutes. The blood cube is cut into smaller pieces, then heated in a pot with medium heat with water. During the heating process, salt is added to solidify the blood cubes.

Characteristics and variations

Pig blood curd is soft and smooth, as well as slightly chewy. It can be eaten by itself, or served in boiled soup, hot pot, or even made as a snack on a stick.Blood tofu: bloody delicious?
''Travel'', China.org.cn. March 12, 2010. Retrieved (23.03.2014) Pig's blood can also be made into a variety of dishes: In China, there are recipes like "pig blood curd

" (), which is pig blood curd in congee, and "maoxuewang" (), a Sichuan dish served with pig blood curd, part of the cow's stomach, luncheon meat, eel, some form of intestine, and bean sprouts in Sichuan style spicy soup. In Taiwan, pig's blood is made into a street snack called "

pig's blood cake ''Ti hoeh koe'' ( or ), as known as pig's blood cake, is a blood pudding served on a stick as street food in Taiwan. Its alternative name is black cake. It is made with steamed pork blood, sticky rice and then coated in peanut powder and coria ...

" (), which is a mixture of pig's blood, fried or steamed sticky rice, and peanut flour served on a stick.Street Food From Taiwan: Pig's Blood Cake
Nicholas Chen, Seriouseats. Retrieved (23.03.2014) Pig's blood is also made into food by many western countries. For example, in Britain,

black pudding , type = , course = , place_of_origin = Great Britain and Ireland , region =England, Ireland, Scotland , associated_cuisine = United Kingdom and Ireland , creator = , year = , mintime = , maxtime = , served = Hot, occasionally ...

(blood sausage) is made from pig's blood and a high proportion of oatmeal.Tradition Black Pudding
Guise Bule, The English Breakfast Society. Retrieved (23.03.2014)

Nutrition

Pig's blood curd is rich in

riboflavin Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

niacin Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It can be manufactured by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variet ...

and other minerals. Moreover, it is easy for the body to digest and absorb. It also contains a certain amount of

lecithin Lecithin (, from the Greek ''lekithos'' "yolk") is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues which are amphiphilic – they attract both water and fatty substances (and so ar ...

and can curb the harmful effects of low density cholesterol. Excessive consumption may cause

iron poisoning Iron poisoning typically occurs from ingestion of excess iron that results in acute toxicity. Mild symptoms which occur within hours include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and drowsiness. In more severe cases, symptoms can include tachypnea, l ...

. It might affect the absorption of other minerals. Therefore, it is suggested to eat pig blood no more than twice in a week. Also, it should not be consumed with soya bean or kelp, they may result in indigestion and constipation respectively.

References

External links

{{Commons category, position=left, Pig blood curd Cantonese cuisine Chinese cuisine Hong Kong cuisine Taiwanese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine Blood dishes