Description
A comforting Thai dish featuring tender braised pork leg, flavored with rich spices and served with rice and pickled vegetables.
Ingredients
Scale
- Pork shank: 2-4 lbs
- Dark soy sauce: 2 tablespoons
- Light soy sauce: 5 tablespoons
- Palm sugar or coconut sugar: 8 tablespoons
- Salt: 2 teaspoons
- Neutral oil: 2 tablespoons
- Chinese five-spice powder: 2 tablespoons
- Water: 1.5 L
- Star anise: 4
- Cinnamon sticks: 2
- Coriander roots: 4
- Garlic: 4 cloves
- Black peppercorns: 1 teaspoon
- Hard-boiled eggs: 4, peeled
- Choy sum: to taste
- Pickled mustard greens: to taste
- Dried shiitake mushrooms: 6
- Jasmine rice: for serving
- Garlic (finely chopped): 3 tablespoons
- Coriander roots (finely minced): 2
- Thai chilies (small): 2, finely minced
- Rice vinegar: 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water for at least 30 minutes. Simultaneously, soak the star anise and cinnamon sticks in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain.
- Prepare the paste by crushing together the garlic, minced coriander, and black peppercorns until they form a coarse paste.
- Sear the pork hock with neutral oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the paste for about 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the palm sugar and a couple of tablespoons of water, mixing until it dissolves. Stir in the Chinese five-spice powder.
- Cook the pork hock for about 5 minutes, turning frequently until it begins to brown.
- Pour water into the pot until the meat is covered about 3/4. Toss in the drained star anise, cinnamon sticks, and soaked shiitake mushrooms.
- Mix in the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and salt. Cover the pot and bring to high heat until bubbling, reduce to low heat, and let it simmer for about 180 minutes, checking occasionally to add water if needed.
- Add the hard-boiled eggs into the pot about 30 minutes before the pork is done, allowing them to soak up the flavors.
- Remove the pork after three hours, slice it for serving while leaving the eggs and mushrooms to continue simmering.
- Prepare the sauce with pounded garlic, coriander roots, Thai chilies, and rice vinegar until saucy.
- Reduce the broth on high heat by half for flavor intensity.
- Blanch the choy sum in the broth, cut into pieces, and serve with steamed jasmine rice and pickled mustard greens.
Notes
For best results, use fresh, high-quality ingredients. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 3 months.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 180 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Braising
- Cuisine: Thai
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 1200mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 150mg