For the past six months, I've been roasting pork butts according to David Chang's simple Momofuku recipe. This go around, I decided to have a go at braising the beast. I included the overnight curing, then plopped the butt in a stock pot with crushed ginger, half a head of garlic, carrots, mushroom soy, light soy, brown sugar, a Taiwanese spice packet ("cinnamon, fennel, ginger, cumin, clove"), and topped it off with water. Cover and let it simmer low for three hours. When my mom does this kind of braising for any meats, she usually adds thick seaweed, too, but I only have kombu, so I added that after three hours.
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| pork butt braising away |
As it cooks, it gives off this really intoxicating aroma full of sweet spices and savory meatiness. It literally fills the entire house. By now, I've been poking and prodding at it to check for doneness, occasionally tearing some pieces off to try =D. Here's a mini-bowl with sauteed bok choy and steamed rice:
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| Chinese braised pork butt (with carrot) and sauteed bok choy |
just so you realize...it doesn't really require curing or marinating beforehand....just a long slow simmer...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know, but I was curious about what it would do: a little on the salty side, but the texture was a little more cohesive while still being fork tender. I'll have to try it a few more times to see for sure what the results are =D
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