Crisp sweet and sour pork hock
Recipe for Mr Wong's crisp sweet and sour pork hock.
Sep 20, 2015 2:00pm- Serves 6
- 1 hr preparation
- 6 hrs cooking plus setting
"How do I recreate Mr Wong's fabulous pork hock?"
Sam Sharp, Kensington, NSW
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ingredients
- For deep-frying: vegetable oil
- To serve: fried shallots, thinly sliced spring onions and long red chillies, coriander, and steamed rice
Red-cooked pork hocks
- 200 ml each Shaoxing wine and soy sauce
- 60 gm rock sugar, crushed (see note)
- 25 gm (5cm piece) ginger, coarsely chopped
- 5 star anise
- 1 piece cassia bark
- 2 spring onions, coarsely chopped
- 3 pork hocks (about 3kg)
Sweet and sour sauce
- ½ onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 small garlic cloves
- 15 gm ginger, coarsely chopped
- 25 ml fish sauce
- 250 gm caster sugar
- 75 ml Chinese red vinegar
- 50 gm Chinese yellow soy paste (huangjiang)
- 75 ml tomato sauce
method
Main
- 1
For red-cooked pork hocks, bring ingredients except pork hocks and 4.5 litres water to the boil in a stockpot. Add hocks, reduce heat to low and simmer until hocks are soft and gelatinous (5 hours). Place hocks on a tray. When cool enough remove bones and knuckle, trying not to break up the meat and skin. Discard bones and stock.
- 2
Line a 5cm-deep 20cm x 30cm tray with baking paper and spread pork evenly in tray. Top with a sheet of baking paper, then another tray to fit inside the first, weight with food cans and refrigerate overnight to set.
- 3
For sweet and sour sauce, blend onion, garlic and ginger in a small food processor to a fine paste, using some fish sauce to blend if necessary. Set aside. Stir sugar and 100ml water in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat to dissolve, brush edges with a wet pastry brush to remove sugar crystals and cook without stirring until light caramel (5-6 minutes). Add remaining ingredients and reserved paste and simmer to a thick glaze (2-3 minutes). Makes about 2 cups. Sauce will keep refrigerated for a month.
- 4
Cut pressed pork into 2cm cubes. Heat oil in a large wok or deep-fryer to 180C and deep-fry 10 pieces of pork at a time, loosening them from the bottom with a metal spatula, until crisp and golden (2-3 minutes; be careful as hot oil will spit). Drain on paper towels, then toss in sweet and sour sauce (about ½ cup) and serve scattered with fried shallots, spring onion, chilli and coriander alongside steamed rice.
notes
Note Start this recipe a day ahead to press the pork. Rock sugar and yellow soy paste are available from Chinese supermarkets.