January 5, 2010

  • Pork simmered in Sweet Soy Sauce

    I haven't made this dish before but it seemed simple and my bf gave me some basic advice.  I also incorporated what I do when I make soy sauce chicken.   I had a hunk of pork butt shoulder that I diced into stewing size pieces.  I left the bone in.  I heated up a pot, added some oil, let it heat up, added shallots, ginger and a bit of garlic.  

    I then browned the pieces of pork.  I think I should have used smaller batches but it turned
    out fine in the end.    

    Once they are browned, I added some light soy sauce, a bit of water and some sugar.  I figure the stewing liquid will reduce and I didn't want it to become too salty.  It does take a fair bit of sugar to balance out the saltiness but I didn't want to add all of it until the very end.  I made sure there was enough liquid
    to cover the meat.  You can leave all the shallots, ginger and garlic in the pan. 

    * 

    The stew simmered for a few hours (about 2 or 3).   I kept the heat on minimum stirred it every so often.  I checked after the first hour to see if the meat was soft.  I wasn't too worried about the oil and the fat, I figured all that stewing would render most of it out.  You could also refrigerate it overnight and scoop out
    any fat. 

    I took out the piece with the bone and the meat fell off it.  I kept tasting the
    soy sauce and adjusted the level of sugar to suit my taste. 

    I simply served it over some freshly cooked, steaming hot rice.  The meat was
    very tender and just flaked away so easily.   I also had a side dish of
    veggies and oyster sauce. 

    You can make this a day ahead of time (say on a Sunday) so that when
    you get home from work on Monday, you don't have to spend that much time
    in the kitchen.

Comments (36)

  • It looks like you've done this one well :)   This is the most basic version of this dish.  You can build on this by adding more layers of flavor as you go.  I tend to reduce mine much more, so that the sauce is much more concentrated.  Also, if you use rock sugar, it comes out much better.  Next time, try a few cloves of star anise, and a few stalks of green onion.

    Also, you mentioned it, but I wanted to as well -- meat cannot brown under those conditions.  It will steam instead.  It seems like it would take longer, but it's faster if you brown in batches since evaporation can happen quicker (which is the condition under which browning will occur).  Another thing, if you use less liquid (as a braise instead of a stew), browning will still occur anyway.

    I like seeing you cooking these and posting these, I hope to see more in the future :)

  • Yum.

  • Maybe just a couple of star anise.  They're quite strong.  I would put just two in a big pot myself.  :)

  • @arenadi - I didn't have rock sugar or palm sugar which my bf suggested.  The taste of the sugar is a bit different.  I also like to reduce the sauce because I don't like it too thin.  I do use green onions when I make soy sauce chicken and also use the whites of the green onions with the oil.  I think I only had enough for a soup I was making the same time.  Yeah, I should have split it up into 2 batches.  It really didn't brown well and I was muttering under my breath. 

    Originally I wanted to see if I could simply toss in the whole hunk of pork, braise it but also use hoi sin sauce along with the soy sauce and do a pulled pork thing.  But I got a bit confused and went with this basic dish which I was more comfortable.  I've never tried cooking with star anise and will try that next time.   Thanks for the tips / advice. 

    @yang1815 - gosh, you and Mike think alike. 

  • @ElusiveWords - O and try pork belly with this one.  Sear the skin and fat sides first.  :D

  • @yang1815 - my mom used to make that too but I found it too fatty.  My belly is gonna look like that pork belly!

  • @ElusiveWords - haha ah come on that's so good!  I guess I don't care cause I already have a pork belly :(

  • @yang1815 - @ElusiveWords - Haha yeah Pork Belly is really good for this dish.  It's so unhealthy though, so you can only eat that once in a while =/  But I love it.

    The way you were thinking about doing it is actually the way I like doing it.  I like making one giant hunk of meat and then cutting it up.  Otherwise, I use much larger hunks of meat.  For some reason, I don't like it the way my mom makes it... I think she cuts the meat too small.  It cooks faster that way, yes.  And flavor gets more into it; but I don't think it's as good.  I think it's because in order for the full flavor from the collagen breakdown, you need to have it simmering for about 2-3 hours, and by that time, small cubes of meat are overdone. 

  • @arenadi - Speaking of which, what's the best way to simmer but not overcook smaller pieces of meat?

  • @yang1815 - It's in the heat management and cooking time.  Let's extrapolate this a bit.  When you boil something, generally it's around 212F.  Additives change that boiling point.  If you keep something boiling at that temperature, it's going to become tough quickly, and moisture will be pushed out because the proteins are coiling up inside.

    Now, if you reduce the temperature, to the point where collagen breaks down but not so high that the proteins squeeze tight, you could theoretically cook something for a very long time and it will just be juicy and tender.  Say you want an internal temperature of 140F.  If you cook that thing at 140F the whole time, the internal temperature is not going to exceed 140F, you know what I mean?  But that will take forever.  You have to find that point where you can sacrifice the perfect internal temperature for the convenience of time.

    Notice that if you stew something say at... 200F for a while, it stays tough; but once that internal temperature reaches the point where collagen breaks down, it gets more tender.  If you keep it cooking, more collagen will break down, and it will become "loose" and break apart.  If you keep cooking it, it just becomes super tough.  It's in managing the heat and cooking time.

    The other thing is you can use brines and marinades to break down the proteins inside the meat before you stew them.  This "pre-breaks" the proteins inside.

  • @arenadi - You think sous-vide would work for dish similar to this?

  • @yang1815 - Sous-vide would work, yes... but it would take forever haha.  Sous-vide would make an excellent version of this actually.

  • @arenadi - Overnight!!!  :D

    How's that different from using say a crock pot?  More moisture locked in at lower temp for longer?

  • Again, you had me at pork haha.

  • yum, looks delicious!  i threw some pork tenderloins in some teriyaki marinate tonight; i was just guessing at the proportions (read: i was too lazy to measure so i sort of did it to taste, and i didn't have fresh ginger in the house which was very sad).  i'll throw it in the oven tomorrow and see how it comes out.

  • @Roadlesstaken - I've found your weakness!  hahahaha

    @kunhuo42 - maybe you can pick some up tomorrow after work. 

  • That looks so delicious. I need to get on my culinary learnings!

  • And I am sure you can use any other meat besides pork. This looks very interesting.

  • @upandoutward - go for it!

    @ZSA_MD - yes, you can use it with chicken as well.  I've never tried it with beef but I'm sure it'll work too. 

  • wow, yummy!

  • I do something similar but with sugar and soy sauce ...

  • I love pork and you have added another recipe to my list. I hope mine looks as good.

  • @tomatoboi - thanks Franco, it is yummy. 

    @kachino - yeah, I do put sugar, some use rock sugar, palm sugar... I think you can probably use honey although it'll have a different taste to it. 

    @Fatcat723 - I'm sure yours will taste good.  (pls read the comments from arenadi too.) 

  • How come we never get a picture of the man behind the food? You don't have to be naked or anything.... :D

  • @apocatim - hahaha... I'm camera shy. 

  • nothing tastes better than pork and this is not just the chinese in me speaking :)

  • @rudyhou - hahaha.... yeah, you're right about that!

  • OMG, I bet that sauce is amazing in the white rice...yum!!!!!

  • @brooklyn2028 - it is great over white rice but I have to watch my intake of carbs    oh well...

  • You remind me of my dad's cooking because he adds some sugar to balance out flavors as well. I guess that's what happens in chinese cooking? I hardly ever cook chinese so I found it rather interesting.

  • Oh, that looks really delicious and satisfying, Matt.  Perfect for a winter's evening.

    @ZSA_MD - Lamb would make an excellent alternative, I think!  Yummy.

  • @mmmagination - you should try cooking Chinese food some time. 

    @christao408 - it is, check out Mike's comments too.  You can vary the salt, sweetness, ginger and spring onions to your own preferences.  Andy and Mike also suggested adding cloves.  This works well with chicken (a whole chicken) or big pieces.  I forgot to mention that you can refrigerate the leftover sauce as well.   My mom used them almost as a starter for the next batch.

  • Damn I'm Hungry!!!! Lol... Food looks good!

  • @rickystar1 - thank you, it was pretty good.

  • There is a taiwanese dish for this...except we don't put onions

  • yeah i wanna to have some =p i am having sandwich for lunch now at shool 

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