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Active Time
40 min
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Total Time
2 1/2 hr
Babi Chin
This tender braised pork is wonderfully easy to make. The aromatic spices — cinnamon, clove, and coriander (which is toasted before grinding to deepen its taste) — add so much flavor that there's no need to brown the meat before braising it.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Special Equipment
Step 1
Finely grind coriander seeds in grinder. Stir together ground coriander and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl.
Step 2
Coarsely purée shallots and garlic in mini processor, scraping down side occasionally. Heat oil in a 6- to 7-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook shallot purée with cinnamon stick, stirring occasionally and scraping up any brown bits, until pale golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add coriander mixture, mashed soybean sauce, sugar, and cloves and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Increase heat to high, then add pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is no longer pink on the outside, 2 to 3 minutes. Add soy sauce and remaining 5 cups water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until meat is tender, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
Step 3
Meanwhile, blanch bamboo shoots in a large saucepan of boiling water 1 minute, then drain well in a colander. Stir bamboo shoots into braised pork and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 15 minutes. (Liquid should be reduced to about 2 cups. If necessary, transfer pork and bamboo shoots with a slotted spoon to a bowl and boil liquid to reduce, then stir in pork and bamboo shoots.) Discard cinnamon stick and season with salt.
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Reviews (15)
Back to TopNot the simplest recipe, but also not the most difficult. Managed to find the soybean sauce (now what do I do with the rest of it). It drew raves from husband and friend. Not sure about issue of "browning." If the directions are followed you actually brown it in spices before braising. Debated on wine to serve, but decided on a spicy dry Riesling and found it worked really well. Think the red wines suggested would have been too heavy. Followed the directions exactly and definitely will repeat.
dodgema
Florida
7/8/2012
Ok. Did it again with a 7 lb pork butt. Ended up with 5 lbs cubed meat. Used all ingredients as written, including REAL dark soy sauce, as mentioned below. Simmered for 1 1/2 hours, and that's where I messed up. Should have quit right there, scooped out the meat with a slotted spoon, and put the liquid through a fine mesh strainer to obtain the beautiful sauce as pictured. However, I simmered for too long and ended up with cubed meat in a thick paste, which, although quite tasty, was not in the least bit pretty and it left no sauce for rice or pasta. Anyway....my family loves it both ways, although I prefer the method and ingredients as stated in the recipe. I did add 1/2T. of extra soy, but that's all I did differently. If I were to use that much meat again, I'd 1 and 1/2 time the liquid ingredients.
hoosrmlkmk
Indiana
4/10/2009
I listened to several reviewers about adding more soy sauce and omitted the yellow soybean paste, since I did not have any, and it tasted pretty good. Since then, I found "importfood.com" where I found all the Asian ingredients I need. I've discovered that dark soy sauce is not just soy sauce - it is very close to molasses and I also purchased some of the yellow paste. I will make this again, as the recipe states, and let you know how it turns out.
hoosrmlkmk
Indiana
3/17/2009
My husband and I enjoyed this recipe very much. I didn't want to use yellow miso as some reviewers did, so I bought Lee Kum Kee brand bean sauce. It has a lovely spicy aroma that blends in perfectly with this recipe.
clementine651
St. Paul, MN
9/28/2008
The braising works great for cheap pork cuts, the sauce comes out well, etc. -- everything works all right scientifically, but the taste was just not that interesting. Needs something...
julianaiwg
Bretagne, France
9/25/2008
I bought Pork Shoulder Roast (with the strings around it), not sure if there's non-roast cut, but this stuff was pretty fatty (as roasts are) so I bought a 5 lbs. After picking through and cutting cubes our of the best sections, I'd say I used about 2/3 of the roast, so ended up with about 3 lbs of meat. This was enough for 7-8 adults, so I'd say to buy a bigger chunk of meat than this recipe calls for if you're serving more than 6. I essentially doubled all the ingredients, and tripled or quadrupled the soy sauce. One tablespoon of soy sauce combined with 5 cups of water?? Are you kidding me? I simmered for about 1-hr 40 minutes 2/3 covered and it the meat came out so tender and flavorful - PERFECT. But there was still quite a bit of liquid. However toward the end some pieces were beginning to poke through the water so I guess depending on the pan size, you may need 5 cups of water to cover the meat the entire period. I actually ladled off some of the liquid before serving as it was just too much liquid (but tasted great - I should have saved it for something!) So, get a bigger chunk of meat to be safe (picky), increase ingredients by at least 50% and start out with 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce, then adjust to taste later. I added a little lime juice for a slight background zing. Forgot the bamboo shoots, but if you added those, along with carots at the end, you'd have a pretty heary asian-ish pork stew. Easy and tastes good! Deserving of 4 stars, although I'd say maybe -0.25 stars for presentation (pork in a brown sauce ain't pretty), but hey, it's SO easy, you can't have it all!
Anonymous
USA
3/24/2008
Very delicious. We used more soy sauce than the recipe required, quite a bit more, actually, and the spices could have been increased too. We also added some broccoli that had been blanched during the last 20 minutes, and it came out perfect.
ChristineXII
3/1/2008
One of my favorite recipes!
Anonymous
Romania
11/21/2007
I followed the recipe very loosely. I used chops, browned them in the pan first, then followed the rest of the recipe. I used much more soy sauce and didn't use the bean paste.
paxregina
11/21/2007
Very easy and tasty. I loved the cilantro on top. We,re in a rural area so all I could get was miso soup flavoring, so maybe this would be a 4 star. 1 3/4 hrs and so tender & juicy.
Anonymous
syracuse, in
11/3/2007
PS I also browned the meat before braising it.
sarahpclegg
10/17/2007
Yum! Delicious and savory, and interesting spices, has almost a Middle Eastern flavor. I also used yellow miso in place of soybean sauce, and in fact I braised a whole 2+ lb bone-in pork shoulder cut (oops, didn't read the recipe that carefully before going to the butcher and I didn't feel like cutting up my roast...) I also braised it in the oven at 325 because I find that more reliable than adjusting the heat on the stovetop. After 1 1/2 hours it was tender and delicious.
sarahpclegg
Berkeley, CA
10/17/2007
Easy, easy, easy and wonderful! I used red miso for the yellow soybean. Everyone raved and I had to send the recipe to all of my guests.
kathrynsouth
Burlington, Vermont
7/5/2007
Use Japanese Miso as a substitue for yellow soya bean paste.
Anonymous
Singapore
5/17/2006
I thought I was good with Asian ingredients, but where does one find yellow soybean paste?
Anonymous
5/17/2006
