Chinese braised pork hocks

 

 

A while ago I posted that I had come into possession of some mighty fine pork hocks and had no idea what to do with them. Several fantastic readers sent in some fantastic suggestions. Given that I have a quite a few pork hocks at my disposal, I'll try to make a few of the recipes over the next little while.

I just couldn't get past my love of the bison spare ribs I made a few weeks ago. So I decided to try a similar approach with the pork hocks. To my mind, they could probably use s bit more cooking time than the bison got as the meat was not as tender. I've accounted for that in the recipe below, but, if you've got the time and you are using a slow cooker, I'd just let them go all day! The worst that can happen is that the meat will just fall off the bone, which is probably better that having to burn yourself pulling hot pork off a scorching bone with your fingers!

Like the bison, this flavour is intense and rich with the flavour of the rice wine and soy sauce. For me, the words "pork hocks" conjure up images of the deep south -- collard greens, corn grits, a rocking chair on the porch, a dusty old pickup truck, biscuits and gravy....So I thought I'd pair the spareribs with grits instead of rice. The grits definitely have a corn taste to them, but in texture, they closey resemble a firm-grained, yet sticky rice, so worked well with the Chinese-flavoured sauce. I was fresh out of collard greens, so employed some orange capsicum and snow peas sauteed in a splash of rice wine to take on the role of understudy to collard greens.

I also wanted to experiment with the different flavours of rice wine, as I used only one specific kind in the bison recipe. Here I use a blend of two very different brews.

I must say that, when I opened the package, I was quite relieved to see that the pork hocks did not have feet attached to them!

Serves 4

• 2 pork hocks (about 4-5 pounds), rinsed well
• 1 cup light soy sauce
• 1 cup dark salted rice wine
• 1 cup clear rice wine
• 1/2 cup palm sugar
• 1/3 cup sliced ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 1 inch pieces of orange peel, pitch removed

Put the pork hocks in a slow cooker (or a large pot on the stove top) together with all the other ingredients and add sufficient water so that the liquid covers the meat completely. If you're using a pot on the stove top, gently bring to the boil then and turn down to simmer. Simmer the pork hocks for at least 2 hours, or longer if you have the time. If you're using a slow cooker, allow to cook for 6 hours from the time you put all the ingredients in the pot.

Remove the cooked pork hocks to a plate to cool slightly. When cool enough to touch, use your fingers to work the flesh away from the bone, use your fingers to clean the meat of the skin and as much of the sticky jelly as you can . Discard the bone, jelly and skin. Set the meat aside.

Strain the stock and bring it to a boil, allow to boil rapidly to reduce the stock to one third of its volume or more. taste the stock during reduction. If it is not strong enough for your liking, reduce it some more.

Once the stock is strong enough for your taste, place the pork meat pieces in it and warm them in the stock for 5 minutes. Serve pork over grits or rice and drizzle the reduced stock over the top.

Comments

[AugustusGloop]

Oh this looks sooooo good... *drool*

[sam]

I didn't persuade you to make the pea and ham soup afterall??? ; )

[megwoo]

Yum, yum, yum! The recipe sounds amazing and the pics are mouth-watering!

[Sweetnicks]

Wow that pork looks great - my husband would LOVE it.

[Joe @ Culinary in the Desert]

The recipe and pictures are wonderful!

[PseudoChef]

Hmm this reminds me of home :D - looks awesome!

//j

[J]

oh my, that braise looks to-die-for - thanks for the recipe; can't wait to try it...cheers,j

[Niki]

Oooh yeah, that looks gooood. I love wet, slow cooked dishes with meat falling off the bone, and think they shouldn't only be made in cold weather. Go slow cooking!

[Lyn]

AG, I'm gald tyo be of service.
Sam, I am sorry...you almost had me...but I have an irrational fear of pea soup
Meg, Sweetnicks, Joe, Pseudochef, J: It really is totally yummy and would do with just about any meat on the bone I think

Niki: funny. I think I havce made more stuff in my slowcooker this summer than I did last winter!

[Bennie]

This recipe is extremely delicious. I couldn't wait for the slow cooker so I made it in the pressure cooker. Quick and easy in an hour. I'm trying it with a large stewing hen tonight. I will be making it again over and over with the hocks though. Good job!

[Margie]

Hi, this looks like a good recipe. Thanks for sharing it. You might want to reconsider the name, though. No self-respecting Chinese person would ever discard the skin. In that respect, this recipe is not very Chinese at all.

[Chinese Traditional Recipes]

Wow, the cooking method of this dish is great, I'll try it later and I hope it tastes the way it look. Thanks for sharing!

[Geh]

I am making this tomorrow in my pressure cooker. looks sooo yummy.!!Just a question though where could we get grits in Australia and how do you cook it?

[Jennifer]

Yeah as soon as I saw the picture I got a lilttle drool. I was looking on line for Pork Hocks because I have some. Originally I wanted just regular pigs feet which I cook once in a great while. I got a craving but when I looked for it at my grocer all they had was the Hocks. So I thought maybe I'd experiment. Your recipe looks delicious I might have to try it! Thanks for posting it!

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The pork one more meals of meat in the world of which there are millions of recipes such as that utedes have right now here in this blog. that will use sesame oil in the recipe gives it a wonderful flavor and I love that.