Pork in a braised pot, Suzhou style

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 600 g pork shoulder
• 250 g Chinese cabbage
• 4 spring onions
• 6 garlic cloves
• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 400 ml chicken broth
• 66 ml rice wine
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 50 ml brown sugar
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick(s)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp water
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes

Cut the pork shoulder into 3-5 cm pieces. Mix together a little more than half of the soy sauce and 1/3 of the cornstarch and marinate the meat for at least 10 minutes. Make chicken stock if necessary. Clean the spring onions and cut them into 3 cm pieces. Peel the garlic and thinly slice them. Cut the Chinese cabbage into 3 cm pieces. Heat the oil in a large pot until smoking hot, add the garlic and stir for 10 seconds. Add the pork and cook until browned on all sides, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock, rice wine, oyster sauce, remaining soy sauce, spring onions, star anise, cinnamon stick, and brown sugar. Bring everything to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat until the meat is tender. This should take about 1 1/4 hours. Add the Chinese cabbage and cook for another 10 minutes, until crisp. Combine the remaining cornstarch and cold water and stir into the dish to thicken. Bring the stew back to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Remove the cinnamon stick and star anise before serving, if desired. For easier removal, you can leave the star anise and cinnamon stick in a tea bag and cook with the dish.