Braised Pork Knuckle With Chinese Black Vinegar 酸辣豬腳醋

If there is one dish that can transport me back home, this has to be it!! This is my ultimate comfort food; the wonderful aroma that one could smell from miles away, the sweet, sour and hot sticky sauce and meltingly tender meat, not to forget the garlic gloves so sweet and tender after the long braising.

There are many versions of pork knuckles braised with black vinegar and I'm always partial to one that I grew up with of course :). Very few ingredients are needed and very little work has to be done too, you basically put everything in a pot cover it and leave it for a few hours and you'll have the most beautiful dish for lunch or dinner.  All you need is a side dish of stir fry Asian greens and plenty of steamed rice to go with it.
I am using mainly leg meat here as the other tummies are not big fans of pork skin; but I always add some knuckles in since I love the wonderful soft and gelatinous texture of the skin after the long cooking,  and it adds that sticky consistency to the sauce which every good stew should possess!
P.S don't be alarmed by the amount of garlic used, they will turn into pockets of sweet garlic puree!!

serves 6 as part of a Chinese meal;

you'll need;

1 kg pork knuckle meat  and 1 knuckle, cut into 4 pieces  (or use 4 knuckles cut into 4 pieces each)

3 bulbs of garlic, separated

12 dried chilies, soaked and seeded

1/2 cup of Chinkiang black vinegar

1/2 cup of light soy

1/4 cup of Chinese dark caramel sauce

3/4 cup of rock sugar

3 tbs of cooking oil

water or stock

dark caramel sauce

Blanch pork pieces

In a heavy bottom pot, saute garlic and dried chilies til lightly brown.

Add in pork pieces and fry for 5 minutes, seasoning can be added by this stage.

Add enough water to cover the pork pieces and simmer for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, the meat should be very tender, the sauce thick and sticky. Remove the layer of fat from the sauce if you wish.

Serve it with plenty of steamed rice and just a simple Asian greens.