How This Brooklyn Restaurant Turns One Pig Into a Lunar New Year Feast — The Experts

Quick Overview

Chef Delfin Jaranilla of Leland in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, prepares a Lunar New Year feast by breaking down a half Tamworth pig and incorporating heritage ingredients into dishes like Char Siu pork, Dan Dan Noodles, and Pork and Shrimp Shumai.

Key Points: Chef Delfin Jaranilla and Head Butcher Gary Little break down half a heritage Tamworth pig to create components for their Lunar New Year menu. The restaurant, Leland, located in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, typically serves about 150 covers per week but sees an increase during Lunar New Year. They are preparing Char Siu using the pork shoulder, which is cured with a dry brine (salt, sugar, five spice, black pepper, white pepper) and then coated in a beet-based marinade. Dan Dan Noodles utilize the ground pork from the pig, seasoned with white pepper, five spice, hoisin, soy sauce, chili oil, Sichuan peppercorns, tahini, and topped with a poached egg and pickled greens. Pork and Shrimp Shumai are made by mixing ground pork, chopped shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and tapioca starch, then topped with a piece of shrimp before steaming. The restaurant's philosophy emphasizes sustainability and supporting small family farms, especially those raising rare heritage breeds like the Tamworth pig. The restaurant's name, Leland, is named after the owner Randy's great-uncle who immigrated from China and established the first Chinese restaurant in Portland, Oregon, called Chin's Kitchen.

Context: The video features Chef-Partner Delfin Jaranilla and Head Butcher Gary Little of Leland, a Brooklyn restaurant, as they showcase their special menu created to celebrate Lunar New Year. The central theme is utilizing a whole, heritage Tamworth pig to create several distinct dishes, emphasizing a commitment to sustainable sourcing and honoring family heritage through food.

Detailed Analysis

Chefs Delfin Jaranilla and Gary Little of Leland in Brooklyn demonstrate the preparation of several dishes for their Lunar New Year celebration, all derived from breaking down half a heritage Tamworth pig. The butchering process is shown, emphasizing the use of every part of the animal, including the shoulder for Char Siu and other cuts for Dan Dan Noodles and Shumai. The Char Siu preparation involves a dry cure with salt, sugar, five spice, black pepper, and white pepper, followed by a rich, beet-based wet marinade which imparts a deep red color. The Dan Dan Noodles feature the ground pork, seasoned with a complex mix including hoisin, soy sauce, chili oil, five spice, tahini, and topped with a perfectly poached egg and pickled greens, which the chef notes provides a necessary 'zingy pop.' The Pork and Shrimp Shumai filling combines the ground pork with chopped Royal Red Shrimp, shiitake, king oyster mushrooms, tapioca starch, and various seasonings, shaped into coin purses and topped with a single shrimp piece before steaming. The chefs also discuss their commitment to sustainability and heritage breeds, noting that the Tamworth breed is rare, with only about 50,000 left globally. The restaurant's name, Leland, honors the owner's great-uncle who started the first Chinese restaurant in Portland, Oregon, Chin's Kitchen.