Chinese Braised Pork Knuckle 🇨🇳

With inflation driving up food prices everywhere, I was looking for a cheap cut of meat and found it in pork knuckles.  Instead of roasting it in the oven for its cracklings, this classic Chinese delicacy is braised in an aromatic broth until the meat comes off the bone meltingly tender and the skin becomes lusciously gelatinous.  A stunning centrepiece presented at the table during Chinese New Year or special occasions for its auspicious symbolism, it is also an ultimate comfort food served with a rich gravy, steamed 'bok choy' and rice.  Preparing this dish is a labour of love.  The knuckle is first blanched in a pot of boiling water, then browned all over in a wok, after which it is slow-cooked for three hours in a broth with an array of spices.  If you cook it a day in advance, any fat rendered into the gravy can be skimmed off after refrigeration overnight.  For a meal that is a little different from your usual fare, I think it's worth the effort.

Serves 8

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pork knuckle, 1.3kg / 2lb 13oz
• 2 tablespoons Chinese Shaoxin wine                               
• 5 slices fresh ginger, peeled (25g /1oz)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 40g / 1½oz rock sugar
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3 spring onions, cut into 5cm / 2" lengths 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• sea salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons cornflour mixed with 3 tablespoons of water, to make a slurry

For the aromatic broth:

• ½ cup Shaoxin wine
• ¼ cup light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 3-4 cups water
• 3 star anises
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 6 cardamom pods
• 5 bay leaves
• a few dried tangerine/orange peels

METHOD

1. Place the pork knuckle in a large pot with slices of ginger and wine.  Fill the pot with enough water to just cover the pork.  Cover and bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat.
2. Carefully remove the knuckle from the hot water.  Give the knuckle a quick rinse under the cold tap and pat it very dry with paper towels to minimise splattering during the next step.  Reserve the ginger slices.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium heat.  Brown the knuckle for 10-15 minutes until the skin is lightly crisp on all sides.  For even browning, use a metal spatula to turn the knuckle occasionally from side to side and splash hot oil over areas that are not in contact with the wok's surface.  Turn off the heat when you are done.  Remove the knuckle and set aside.
4. Add the rock sugar to the remaining oil in the wok and turn the heat on to low.  Once the rock sugar has melted, add the reserved ginger slices, garlic and spring onions.  Stir fry them in the sugar/oil mixture for 2 minutes.  Add the wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and 2 cups of water.  Turn up the heat and bring it to a boil.  Turn off the heat.
5. Place the knuckle in a deep-sided pot  big enough for it to sit snuggly in.  Carefully transfer the aromatic broth from the wok to the pot.  Add more hot water until there is enough liquid to submerge the knuckle about 75%.  Add the star anises, cinnamon stick, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cardamom pods, bay leaves and tangerine/orange peels.
6. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook the knuckle in the broth for 3 hours with the lid on.  Turn the knuckle around every hour. 
7. The knuckle is ready when it has become so tender that you can easily pull out the centre bone.  Turn off the heat and carefully transfer the knuckle, keeping its shape, onto a serving platter.
8. Skim the fat from the broth and drain with a fine sieve.  Pour drained broth back into the saucepan.  Turn on high heat for a few minutes to reduce the sauce to a thin gravy, or thicken it with a cornflour slurry.  Stir in sesame oil and season with sea salt to taste.
9. Pour the gravy over the knuckle in the serving plate.  Arrange steamed bok choy around the pork.  Present the dish at the table and serve with rice.

Source (with adaptations): The Woks of Life