Braised Pork with Tamarind
In southeast asia, tamarind or “assam” as it is called in Malay, is often used to add sourness to a dish. I love tamarind as I think it gives a very fragrant flavor compared to using vinegar.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb pork shoulder
- dark soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 inch knob of ginger, smashed
- 1 star anise
- 2 cups of water
- tamarind pulp (comes in a block)
- sweet soy sauce (Indonesian kecap manis)
- cracked black pepper
- cilantro to garnish
Prepare the tamarind juice by cutting about 2 inches square off the tamarind pulp block. Add 3/4 cup of hot water and let it soak for 15 minutes.
Mesh the tamarind pulp with your hands to get the tamarind flesh off the seeds. Strain the tamarind liquid into a small bowl and set it aside.
Boil the pork shoulder for about 8 minutes. This step is to reduce the porkyness smell. Rinse the pork and cut into bite sized pieces.
In a saucepan, add some oil on medium heat. Pan fry the pork pieces until evenly brown.
Add garlic, ginger, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, cracked black pepper, star anise and continue pan frying for another 10 minutes. Stir occassionally.
Add water and tamarind juice to the pan, and let it simmer for another 30 minutes on low heat.
If there’s too much liquid after 30 minutes, turn up the heat and let the sauce thicken up.
This dish tastes better the next day so it’s a good dish to make ahead. Reheat the dish in a saucepan, add some water if necessary.
Garnish with cilantro and best enjoyed with steamed white rice.