Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup white cane vinegar
- 1/4 cup toyo (our local soy sauce)
- 3/4 – 1 cup water (you may not use all of it)
- 3 chicken legs (drumstick) and 3 chicken thighs (about 600-650 grams of chicken)
- 350-400 grams pork belly (the part with the bone, skin on), cut into generous chunks (about 2 inches)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 8-10 cloves garlic, just slightly bashed, skin still on (do not peel!)
- 2 bay (laurel) leaves
- Freshly cracked black pepper, a few twists
- One star anise
- Put all the ingredients except for the water in a Dutch oven or any heavy duty pot and leave for about 30 minutes to marinate.
- Place the pot over medium heat, add 1/2 cup water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer without stirring until most of the vinegar’s acid has been cooked off – you will know when this is done because it won’t smell as sharp and “sting-y”.
- Keep simmering over low heat until the chicken is very tender - about 40 minutes to an hour. Taste the sauce. If it’s too salty or too sharp for your taste, add some of the remaining water. I usually end up using 3/4 cup total.
- When chicken is tender, remove the pieces from the pot and set aside. At this point the garlic will be very tender as well – you can mash some (not all!) of the cloves against the sides of the pot to incorporate it into the sauce.
- Keep simmering on low heat a further 30 minutes to 1 hour or until pork is meltingly tender. When pork is very tender, remove from pot and set aside.
- Keep simmering sauce until reduced to your desired consistency. Taste the sauce and if you’d like a bit of sweetness, stir in a pinch of brown sugar.
- Heat a skillet with some oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the chicken and pork pieces to brown. When the sauce has reduced to your desired consistency add the browned chicken and pork back to the pot. Toss gently and remove from heat. You can eat it at this point but it gains depth of flavour if you let it rest for a day.
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