Braised Red Pork Casserole, Shanghai-style

Pork

Braised Red Pork Casserole, Shanghai-style
Ingredients:
1 pork shoulder, boned in with rind (about 3-4 kg)
2 pints Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
3 pints Chicken Stock or water
1 pint dark soy sauce
5 ounces light soy sauce
6 ounces rock sugar or ordinary sugar
10 slices fresh ginger
8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
6 scallions, whole
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 whole star anise
5 cinnamon sticks, Chinese cassia
3 Tablespoons cumin seeds
3 dried red chili peppers
4 pieces dried tangerine peel
Preparation:
1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the pork shoulder and when it comes to a boil again, skim, reduce the heat and simmer gently, partially covered for thirty minutes. Drain throughly.
2. Make sauce by combining rice wine, stock, soy sauces and sugar in a very large pot and bringing the liquid to a simmer.
3.Place spices in a cheese cloth and tie together tightly.
4. Add the blanched pork shoulder to the liquid, bring it back a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. skimming all the while.
5. Now cover the pot tightly and continue to simmer gently for two or three hours until the pork fat and rind is very soft and tender.
6. Remove meat and reduce the liquid to a syrup, and serve it with the pork.

Flavor and Fortune is a magazine of: