Green tea and red rice add more than color and an East Asian twist to this soft bread loaf. Lightly enriched with sugar, butter, and an egg yolk, the subtle tastes of both ingredients pull through along with their many nutritional benefits.

The health benefits of green tea are well-documented, but red rice may be a bit unusual depending on your location. It is mainly used as a natural coloring agent in Chinese cuisine and as a dietary supplement known to control cholesterol. I consider this bread a tasty way to recover from sugar and chocolate eating sprees.

I meant to join Boaz’s Bread Baking Day for colorful breads but it got buried under a ton of unfinished posts. All three of them. I’m blaming all that sugar I’ve been having lately.

recipe adapted from Youko Yamane (in Japanese)
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog

Green Tea and Red Rice Swirl Bread

makes one 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf

Dough Formula:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
all-purpose or bread flour    2 1/3 cups         10.6          300
instant yeast                 1 1/2 tsp            .2            5
granulated sugar                  2 tbsp + 1 tsp  1.1           30
kosher salt                       1 tsp            .1            4
egg yolk                          1                .7           20
water, lukewarm                 2/3 cup           5.6          160
unsalted butter, melted           2 tbsp           .8           24

For the Green Tea and Red Rice Pastes:

1 tablespoon powdered or finely ground green tea leaves + 2 teaspoons hot water
1 tablespoon ground red rice + 2 teaspoons hot water

Instructions:

Mix             Mix all of the ingredients except the green tea and
                red rice pastes until a shaggy ball of dough is formed.

Knead           5 to 6 minutes

Divide          2 pieces

Knead           Smear the green tea and red rice paste to each of the
                two pieces of dough. Continue kneading each piece of
                dough separately until a smooth and pliable ball of
                dough is formed and the pastes are thoroughly
                incorporated, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Bulk Ferment    1 hour at room temperature

Shape           Stretch each piece of dough into a rectangular shape
                and place one on top of the other. Roll tightly
                beginning from the short edge of the rectangle, as
                illustrated in this recipe for Frisian sugar bread.

Preheat Oven    350ºF/175ºC

Final Proof     60 to 90 minutes at room temperature, or until
                almost doubled in size

Bake            Bake for 40 to 50 minutes at 350ºF/175ºC, rotating the
                loaf halfway through baking if necessary.

Cool            At least 30 minutes

Green tea and red rice swirl bread crust.

You are relaxed. You are getting very relaxed.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Green Tea and Red Rice Swirl Bread

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White-cut chicken is a traditional Chinese preparation that calls for poaching, cutting on the bone, chilling, and serving with a flavorful dipping sauce. Chicken doesn’t have to be fried, crisp, or golden brown to be delicious. When it comes to Chinese dishes, “traditional” usually implies “old as hell” and “bajillions served,” so they must be eating something right. If you’re still not convinced after trying this recipe (highly unlikely), here’s another example of pale but tasty steamed chicken.

recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen and The Chinese Chicken Cookbook

白切雞 (Bai Qie Ji)
White Cut Chicken
With Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce

makes 4 to 6 servings

3 1/2-pound chicken
1/4 cup kosher salt

For the Poaching Liquid:

10 cups water
6 scallions, trimmed and cut in thirds
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar

1-inch piece of fresh ginger, smashed (optional)
1/2 cup fresh coriander / cilantro, stalks cut in half (optional)
1/4 cup Chinese white rice wine (optional)

For the Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons chicken stock or reserved poaching liquid
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions, white parts only
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar

Equipment:

• A heavy pot, preferably a dutch oven

Notes:

• This recipe is based on two versions from the same author. The list of optional ingredients is the difference between the two.
• Also try this ginger-scallion dipping sauce recipe.

To Wash the Chicken:

1. Wash the chicken under cold running water. Remove any excess fat and rub with about 1/4 cup of kosher salt. Rinse again under cold running water and drain.

To Poach the Chicken:

1. In a heavy pot or dutch oven, add all of the poaching liquid ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes.
2. Place the chicken in the pot and add just enough water to cover the chicken. Return to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook while covered for about 30 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat and let the chicken cool to room temperature in the poaching liquid.
4. Remove the chicken from the pot, drain well, and cut into bite-sized pieces. The chicken can also be chilled — refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. Reserve at least 2 tablespoons of the poaching liquid for the ginger-soy dipping sauce if chicken stock isn’t available.

To Serve:

Mix all of the ginger-soy dipping sauce ingredients and spoon into individual small dishes. Serve the sliced chicken slightly chilled or at room temperature.

Links about Chinese White Cut Chicken:

• Kits Chow
• Sunday Nite Dinner

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Chinese White Cut Chicken

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Do you try and remember the first things you learned to cook? My memory is a bit hazy, but here’s my list so far:

• Rice, because some Filipino kids are forced to cook as soon as they can lift a pot.
• Eggs, sunny-side up.
• Hot dogs, cut with a butter knife to resemble octopi.

And of course, this crab and corn soup. From a packet, mind you, in its full natural and artificial flavoring glory. In case you were wondering, the neon-red crab product highlighted on the packaging falls under the synthetic category. It could’ve been anything from fish-flavored bathmat bits to dessicated denture adhesive and I wouldn’t have cared. Stirring with a blackened wooden spoon in one hand and an egg in the other,  I felt like a rockstar grade-schooler while preparing instant soup.

I had almost forgotten about this soup so I was glad to find this recipe in my favorite Chinese cookbook. It eschews the cornstarch to keep it light, and more importantly, it’s all natural, as long as you stay away from krab.

recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen

Chinese Crab and Corn Soup

makes 6 to 8 servings

4 cups (about 1 1/4 pounds) corn kernels, fresh or frozen
6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/4 pound crabmeat
5 large egg whites or 3 whole eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

Equipment:

• A blender
• A heavy pot

Notes:

• Change the amount of corn that is pureed with the chicken stock to get the desired consistency. I used about a quarter of the corn kernels for a thinner soup.

Instructions:

1. Place about half of the corn kernels and 1 cup of the stock in a blender. Pulse to a coarse puree.
2. In a heavy pot, heat the remaining 5 cups of chicken stock with the grated ginger, ground pepper, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Add the whole corn kernels and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Increase the heat to high and immediately add the pureed corn. Bring to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes while stirring.
5. Add the crabmeat and return to a boil.
6. Pour a thin stream of beaten egg in a spiral pattern over the soup and stir well. Turn off the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

To Serve:

Sprinkle with the sliced scallions and serve immediately.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Chinese Crab and Corn Soup

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Dongpo Pork is a minimalist recipe for braised pork belly that needs only a few Chinese pantry staples — ginger, scallions, soy sauce, and Shaoxing rice wine. Ever ordered anything “drunken” at your local Chinese restaurant? Odds are you’ve had Shaoxing. It is the most widely used rice wine in Chinese cookery so invest in a good quality bottle if you plan to fire up the wok often.

Hangzhou braised pork belly shamelessly celebrates fat as the main ingredient. There is no browning or searing in this version, a step usually called for when braising meats, presumably to prevent the fat and skin from taking on any texture other than gelatinous. As the meat simmers underneath the ebony liquid to produce a rich broth, the fat on top steams into wobbly silkiness that is neither solid nor liquid.

I realize that wasn’t the most appetizing description for something you’re supposed to put in your mouth. This is one of those “try it, you’ll like it” recipes.

It takes at least 4 hours to get the best results when making Dongpo Pork. Throw the ingredients in a pot, run errands, do laundry, work out, and come home to a kitchen redolent of ginger and soy sauce. It’s done when the fat, skin, and meat are easily pierced with blunt chopsticks.

recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen

東坡肉 (Dong Po Rou)
Hangzhou Braised Pork Belly

makes 8 servings

3 pounds skin-on pork belly, preferably including the ribs
1/4 pound dark brown sugar (about 1/2 cup firmly packed)
7 cups cold water
1/2 cup Shaoxing wine
1-inch piece of ginger, smashed
6 scallions, trimmed and cut into 3 to 4-inch segments
2/3 cup dark soy sauce

Equipment:

• Food-safe string (or banana leaves if you’re a resourceful Filipino)

Notes:

• It’s perfectly fine to braise the pork belly in one piece but where’s the fun in that? Tying up the small pieces keeps the pork belly from falling apart while braising.
• Seek out the more refined Shaoxing wine marked “Hua Tiao Chiew” or “Hua Diao Jiu.” it will have an alcohol content of 16 to 20 percent. Avoid bottles labeled “Shaoxing wine for cooking” — it is low quality, laced with salt, and jarring to the palate.

Instructions:

Politely ask your butcher to cut the pork belly into 2 1/2-inch squares, especially if it still has the ribs intact. Tell your butcher to go easy on the nipple.

Tie each piece of pork belly as tightly as possible with your binding implement of choice. The pork belly will shrink considerably while cooking as its fat is rendered.

In a pan wide enough to hold the pork belly pieces in one layer, mix the dark brown sugar, cold water, Shaoxing wine, smashed ginger, scallions, and soy sauce. Add the pork belly, skin side down, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover the pan, and braise for 30 minutes.

Porky parcels.

Turn the pork belly pieces so that the skin side is up, cover, and braise for another 3 hours. The pork should be immersed about halfway. The liquid will be reduced by about half towards the end of cooking.

To Serve:

Serve with plain rice or steamed buns. Since the banana leaves don’t count, do yourself a favor and serve the pork belly with simply-cooked vegetables. It’s always a good idea to have some greens on the table, but in this case, it’s mandatory.

X marks the spot.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Braised Pork Belly – Hangzhou Dongpo Pork

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If you have a nagging need to apply heat to apples before enjoying it, try steaming for a change. Cooking and baking cultivars such as Granny Smith Apples can be steamed with good results, changing its distinctive crispness into a spoonable consistency. Steaming also intensifies the flavor of apples while retaining much of its fresh taste, and more importantly, its nutrients. There has to be some truth to that old saying, right?

Sweet red bean paste complements the tartness of Granny Smiths in this traditional Shanghai recipe for stuffed and steamed apples. Unlike steamed peaches with honey dates, in which the ingredients combine into a syrupy whole, the apples and red bean paste stay separate because of the firmer fruit. Enjoy the apples with a bit of the sweet filling in each spoonful.

recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen

Apples Steamed with Sweet Azuki (Red Bean) Paste

makes 4 servings

4 firm Granny Smith apples
8 tablespoons azuki (red bean) paste

Equipment:

• a large bowl containing 6 cups of cold water and 3 tablespoons of vinegar
• a melon baller
• 4 ramekins

Notes:

• Replace the azuki bean paste with mashed dried or fresh fruits, jams or preserves, or other sweet purees.

Slice off the tops of the apples about a quarter of the way from the top. Place the apples in the bowl of vinegar water as each is sliced.

Using a melon baller, scoop out the core of the apple to remove all of the seeds and create a cavity for the azuki bean paste. Place the apples in the vinegar water as each is cored.

Place the apples in ramekins or steam-proof bowls with high sides. Fill the cored apples with the azuki bean paste, about 2 tablespoons for each apple. Replace the apple tops to cover.

Steam the apples in an aluminum or bamboo steamer over medium heat for about 30 minutes, until slightly soft to the touch.

Serve warm or chilled.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Apples Steamed with Red Bean Paste

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6. Tarte Tatin in Vol-au-Vents

Pureed red bean paste is wrapped in a thin blanket of crisp-fried crepes in this sweet Shanghai classic. Traditionally served on its own, toppings such as toasted sesame seeds and light syrups are certainly welcome. My favorite addition is Japanese kinako, an aromatic flour of roasted soybeans, adding a subtle nuttiness that always plays well with the rich sweetness of azuki bean paste.

This simple recipe is probably the best reason to own a rectangular pan (or a lame excuse for justifying impulse buys meant to appease kitchen gearheads). A few rows of uniformly-sized crepes in the morning is always a great way to start the day (or instant therapy for some undiagnosed condition).

Still not convinced to make this right now? Red bean crepes are also great for sharpening your chopstick handling skills. Using nothing but two sticks, make a few batches without tearing a single crepe and you’ll surpass Mr. Miyagi in no time.

recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen
World Egg Day hosted by Abby of Eat the Right Stuff

Shanghai Red Bean Crêpe

makes 3 crepes (4 to 6 servings)

1 large egg
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup peanut or vegetable oil
9 tablespoons pureed red bean paste

roasted soybean powder or toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions:

Place the all-purpose flour in a mixing bowl. In a separate container, beat the large egg with the cold water until thoroughly mixed. Add the egg mixture to the flour and whisk until the batter is smooth.

Heat a non-stick skillet or rectangular pan over medium-low heat. Brush the bottom lightly with peanut oil. Add 1/3 of the batter to the pan, tilting it to ensure that the bottom is evenly coated. Once the crepe is set, spread 3 tablespoons of the red bean paste in the middle, forming a rectangular shape.

Gently fold in the outer edges of the crepe to form a red bean hot pocket. Add more oil to the pan if desired and continue pan-frying the crepe until browned and slightly crispy on both sides.

Top row: scraggly crepes made before that first cup of morning coffee
Bottom row: finally awake

Underneath the Shanghai Red Bean Crepe, or why owning a rectangular non-stick pan is totally worth it.

To Serve:

Slice the crepes into 4 to 6 bite-sized pieces. Serve on its own, with fresh fruit, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, or my personal favorite, dusted with roasted soybean powder.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Shanghai Red Bean Crêpe

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Sweetened azuki bean paste opens the door to East Asia, where it is widely used in a variety of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sweets. Whether used in bread or pastry fillings, sweet soups, pancakes, or ice cream, the essential azuki bean is usually highlighted as the main flavor. Its assertiveness is best complemented with neutral ingredients, or my personal preference, enjoyed on its own with a splash of milk or cream and a cup of green tea.

Store-bought azuki bean paste, convenient though it is, can be tooth-achingly sweet to the point of inedibility. Making your own unsweetened bean paste gives you the flexibility to adjust the sugar amount depending on the recipe.

Azuki bean paste generally comes in two consistencies: chunky (tsubushi-an) and pureed (koshi-an). The following methods for both types should cover the majority of your red bean paste needs. You’ll be relieved to know that soaking and pressure cookers are optional — azuki beans are a relatively quick-cooking legume.

recipe adapted from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art
My Legume Love Affair hosted by Lucy of Nourish Me

2 Sweet Azuki (Red Bean) Paste Variations – Chunky and Pureed

makes about 2 cups (450 grams)

1 cup (6.35 ounces / 180 grams) azuki beans

To Prepare the Azuki:

Wash the azuki beans and place in a large pot filled with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, drain, and discard the water. Continue with the instructions for either chunky (tsubushi-an) or pureed (koshi-an) azuki bean paste.

For the Chunky Azuki Bean Paste
つぶしあん (Tsubushi-An)

1 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
pinch of salt

Instructions:

Add about 3 cups of water to a pot containing the par-boiled azuki beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot, and simmer the azuki beans until soft, approximately 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours. The water should be almost completely absorbed by the time the beans are done. Add water as needed while simmering to prevent the beans from scorching.

Add the sugar, stirring gently until the azuki bean paste is heated through and glossy. Season with a pinch of salt and mix well. The paste should be thick with some whole and half-crushed azuki beans.

For the Pureed Azuki Bean Paste
こしあん (Koshi-An)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, or to taste
pinch of salt

Equipment:

sieve or fine mesh strainer
cheesecloth or cotton bag

Instructions:

Add about 5 cups of water to a pot containing the par-boiled azuki beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook the azuki beans until soft, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours. There will still be a considerable amount of liquid at this point.

Place a sieve over a bowl. Pour the beans and liquid into the strainer, such that the bottom of the strainer is partly immersed in the liquid.

Using a wooden spoon, spatula, or the palm of your hands, mash the beans through the sieve into the simmering liquid so that the bean skins stay on the sieve.

Pour the mashed beans and simmering liquid into a cheesecloth or cotton bag and squeeze out all the water. Put the unsweetened bean paste in a saucepan, add the sugar, and cook over low heat, stirring gently until the azuki bean paste is heated through and glossy. Season with a pinch of salt and mix well. The paste should have the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Related Links:

• Not-so-sweet Tsubu-An by Maki of Just Hungry
• Wikipedia entry for red bean paste

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Sweet Azuki (Red Bean) Paste – East Asian Dessert Introduction

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This deceptively simple steamed dessert has only three ingredients — peaches, dates, and brown sugar. I wasn’t too excited about it at first because I like peaches raw and I’m not too fond of dates. Since I was steaming chicken for dinner and had some fresh peaches on hand anyway, I figured that I might as well pick up a handful of dates, barely remembering this recipe.

While sweating it out in my nifty aluminum steamer, the peaches predictably released a wonderful aroma. The results, however, far exceeded my expectations. The brown sugar melded nicely with the peaches, releasing its juices and creating a fragrant syrup. Plumping up through osmosis, the dates absorbed the peach nectar and transformed from a wrinkled cloying drupe to something I’m craving for right this moment.

recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen

Steamed Peaches with Honey Dates
Mut Joh Jing Toh

makes 4 servings

4 peaches, ripe but firm
4 Chinese honey dates or any sweet varietal
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Notes:

• There are a number of fillings you can use to replace the dates. Mangoes come to mind, but do try it with the dates first. It just works really well for some reason.

Slice off the tops of the peaches right where the pits begin, about 1/2 inch from the top. Using a grapefruit knife or a small teaspoon, core the peaches by running your implement of choice around the pit area.

Place the peaches in steam-proof bowls with high sides (such as ramekins). Place one date inside each cored peach. Fill to the top with brown sugar, about 1 1/2 tablespoons.

Peaches stuffed with honey dates and dark brown sugar

Place the bowls in a steamer and steam for 30 to 40 minutes or until the peaches have softened and released its juices. Some of the syrup is the result of steam condensation. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap before steaming if this bothers you.

Serve warm or chilled.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Steamed Peaches with Honey Dates

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Family recipes are great, especially if they’re not from my own. Having said that, my food-obsessed relatives are sure to disown me, so I’m going to explain myself in case my grandmother finds this while googling my name in search of my Twitter account.

I’ll never get tired of the foods of my childhood and will always have a Ratatouille moment each time I have Pinakbet. The thing is, I’ve had such dishes so many times already and would rather have something completely new. It’s like having that first awkward bite of sushi and thinking, “Where have you been all my life?” Thinking that wasabi was some sort of minty candy, my first memories of sushi actually involved shooting white nostril heat and gushing tears, but you know what I mean.

Regardless of cultural provenance, other people’s family recipes will always be appealing to me because it’s often a confluence of several good things:

• It will be easy to make
• It will be easy to like
• It will be affordable

Take this recipe for steamed lemon chicken, for instance. From Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen, my favorite thing about the book is the wide array of family recipes in addition to well-known regional Chinese classics. She points out that this specific preparation will not be found anywhere else, yet one look at the ingredient list and it seems instantly familiar and accessible.

recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen

Steamed Lemon Chicken
Ling Mung Jing Gai

makes 4 servings

4 chicken leg quarters
kosher salt
1 lemon

For the marinade:

one-inch slice of fresh ginger, peeled
1 tablespoon Chinese white rice wine
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
a pinch of ground pepper
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)

For garnishing:

scallions, thinly sliced
lemons, thinly sliced

Notes:

• Cornstarch can turn into a gluey substance while in the steamer so I listed it as an optional ingredient. I can’t recommend adding it to the marinade.

Rub the chicken leg quarters with kosher salt. Rinse under cold running water then dry thoroughly with paper towels. Squeeze the lemon juice over chicken legs and set aside.

Grate or finely mince the fresh ginger. Press it through a fine strainer to extract the juice, about one teaspoon. In a bowl, add the ginger to the rest of the marinade ingredients and whisk until the salt and sugar are thoroughly dissolved. Let the chicken and marinade rest for at least 30 minutes.

Place the chicken legs in a steam-proof dish. Stir the marinade briefly before pouring over the chicken. Using the steaming implement of your choice, steam the chicken legs over high heat for about 30 minutes.

Lemon chicken steaming in an aluminum steamer

To Serve:

Garnish with the sliced scallions and lemons. Serve with cooked rice.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Steamed Lemon Chicken

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Cooking for a small crowd can be really stressful for the budding Michael Chiarello. However, it can be one of the most fun things you can do for friends and family. There is something perversely satisfying with making something delicious and sharing it with people you really really care about. A lot of things can go wrong but there are a few things I always do when having a few guests over:

1. Have lots of booze. If the food sucks, a good buzz makes it better.
2. Make most of the food ahead of time.
3. Hope and pray that there are no vegetarians.

This Shanghai recipe for slowly cooked pork starts off with a quick sear in copious amounts of hot oil. There is a lot of potential for an unintentional burn ward visit so use a really hot oven to brown if uncomfortable with the idea of lowering a hunk of pig in hot oil.

Red cooked pork shoulder, like most braised and slow-cooked meats, is much better made a day ahead. The sauce is slightly sweet and rendered aromatic from the use of eight-star anise, cinnamon sticks, and ginger.

recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-fei Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen

Red Cooked Pork Shoulder
Jau Yau Tai Pong

5 to 6 pound skin-on pork shoulder
1 cup + 2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 1/2 cups peanut oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 pieces eight-star anise
2 three-inch cinnamon sticks
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into thirds
2 one-inch slices ginger, peeled
10 cups cold water
1/3 cup Shao-Hsing wine
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered red rice (optional)

Notes:

• The powdered red rice can be difficult to find but doesn’t really add anything other than that authentic shade of red. For a more vibrant reddish tint, add the red rice towards the last half hour of cooking.

Red rice, inexplicably labeled “yeast”

Wash the pork shoulder with cold water while scraping the skin with a knife. Dry thoroughly with paper towels. Rub the pork shoulder with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and let rest for at least 15 minutes.

Heat the peanut oil in a hot wok over high heat. The oil temperature should be around 375ºF.

The pork shoulder I used weighed 15 pounds and won’t fit in my largest pot so I had to cut off the shank. I used it for a searing test run:

The skin immediately started getting small white bubbles and the smell reminded me of chicharrón. Sear the pork shoulder on all sides. Ladle hot oil over the meat for 1 to 2 minutes or turn if necessary. Remove the pork shoulder from the wok.

Place the pork shoulder in a large pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Add as much liquid as needed to completely immerse the pork shoulder.

Bring to a boil then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Try to keep the liquid at 185ºF. Cook for anywhere from 6-12 hours, depending on the size of the pork shoulder. It’s ready when the meat pulls away easily from the bone.

Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. Reheat gently before serving.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Feed a Crowd: Red Cooked Pork Shoulder

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