Pork Fu - Something Different

On a JMT Facebook group I belong too, someone mentioned Pork Fu as a dried meat product to bring along on trips, so I stopped by a local Asian market and picked up a tub.

When you first open the tub and pull a little pork fu out it seems very odd as it has the consistency of old wool that you might pull off the sweater from your great aunt Agnes.

It's pretty cheap, has 110 calories per ounce and seems to keep forever. The tub I picked up was off an unrefrigerated shelf in the store and had a best use by date of 2022. 

I've had it mixed in with Top Ramen and like the taste and will be buying more tubs in the future.

Anyone else have any experience with Pork Fu or know of other products like tis?

If you have access to good Asian markets you will find lots of dried fish which works similarly. Can be chewed like jerky or cooked in your pot. The squid is especially nice because it retains texture when cooked while fish tends to come apart more.

We have a few good Asian markets in our area and I can see that I'll have to spend more time in them to see what's available.  While it wouldn't be something I would normally consider, I'm going to look for the squid the next time I'm there and give it a try.

One of my favs is powdered miso soup with the additions of dried shrimp, and dried seaweed or dried kelp.

Ed

Ed, that's a staple for us on our trips.  It's our standard first course...and a great start towards rehydrating ourselves at the end of the day.  We eat it while waiting for our freeze dried entree to hydrate...

Good review and thanks guys for all the suggestions! 

shaved tuna is pretty awesome also!

Pork Fu sounds pretty tasty. Thanks for the tip.

Similar to what LoneStranger mentioned, I've been doing a lot of dried anchovy this year, specifically, the Tong Tong Bay brand (found at a local Korean food shop). The little dried anchovies are good raw (reminiscent of jerky) or to flavor soups and stews. I've experimented with adding dried red jujube dates as well, but they are a little pricey and left with a pit to deal with. Good flavor though when rehydrated in a soup and practically weightless when dehydrated. 

Looks interesting.  What is the flavor like?  Is it seasoned? Salty?

I have been seeing biltong, a South African form of jerky in local stores such as Stop and Shop and Aldi's.  Now that Wilson's Meat Food Bars are long gone, stuff like this is apparently the only option. 

Biltong is thinly sliced, across the grain and crumbles easily. It is very dry and very lacking in fat, so it should keep indefinitely. It does not hydrate terribly well from my initial experiments however, but neither did the Wilson's Bars. They are also not cheap, but then neither were Wilsons. One package for about $3 or a bit more should provide protein for two for one entree.  It comes seasoned and unseasoned. 

I do not get out as much as I like so perhaps it should be affordable even for me. Likewise this pork product. 

The Pork Fu is a bit salty, so if your trying to minimize your sodium intake this may not be a good option.
I need to search out the dried anchovy's and also the biltong and give them each a try.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

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