BRAISED TI PANG
In some places in China, braised Ti Pang is a must-have dish for Chinese New Year celebrations. It’s thought to provide good fortune and a sense of security! Look at how it’s presented—it’s a work of art and an absolute powerhouse (yngcài). Even if it doesn’t bring you good fortune, your friends and family will admire you for it.
Three different names in China know this dish. However, Northerners simply refer to it as (zhuzi) instead of its official name, (dùnyuántào). We Chinese call it (hóngsho t páng) in the South. Regardless of where you live, you can expect to see a wide range of cooking methods when it comes to spices. That’s probably why it’s only used during major festivals like Chinese New Year.
What Is TI PANG?
The pork shank, or front hock, is used to make Braised Ti Pang. After blanching and searing the pork shank, it is simmered for several hours in a mixture of soy sauce, wine, and other spices. Reduced into a gravy, it’s then drizzled over the finished dish.
This is a very lean cut of meat, weighing in at three to four pounds on average. Due to its rarity, you’ll need your butcher to make a special order for you. For the most part, Asian grocery stores carry the cut more readily.
INGREDIENTS:
SPICE POUCH:
- 3-star anise
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 2 g. of cinnamon stick
- 1 g. of Sichuan peppercorns
- 3 g. of fennel seeds
- 2 pcs. of black cardamom pods
- 5 pcs. of dried bay leaves
- 5 g. of dried orange peel
- 4 g. of black or white peppercorns
- 1-2 pcs. of dried red chilies
FOR THE REST OF THE DISH:
- 3 lb. of pork front hock/shank
- 5 slices of ginger
- 2 tbsp. of Shaoxing wine
- 3 tbsp. of vegetable oil
- 40 g. of rock sugar
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 5 pcs. of scallion whites
- 1/2 cup of Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 cup of light soy sauce
- 1 tsp. of dark soy sauce
- 7-8 cups of water
- 1 tbsp. of cornstarch
- salt
- 1/4 tsp. of sesame oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Gather all the aromatics for the spice pouch before moving on to the next step. Use kitchen string to secure everything in cheesecloth. Dispose of.
- Rinse the meat. Let go of any leftover bristles, and we’ll take care of them when we blanch the skin.
- Add the pork in a medium-sized to a large pot, along with five slices of ginger and two tablespoons of Shaoxing wine. Place the pork in the pot and add just enough water to cover it. Heat till bubbling. Boil for one more minute, then remove from the heat.
- Remove the pork and ginger slices from the pot and wash the pot and the pork thoroughly. The best moment to remove any remaining hairs with tweezers is right now. Once the ti pang has been thoroughly cleaned, it should be well dried with a paper towel.
- In a medium-sized wok, warm 3 tablespoons of oil. Cook the ti pang until the skin is crisp and golden brown on all sides. Takes about ten to fifteen minutes. Scoop hot oil into any wok area that isn’t touching the surface with your spatula. Remove the ti pang from the heat and set it aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and mix the rock sugar with the residual oil in the pan. Toss in the reserved slices of ginger, garlic, and scallions once the sugar has dissolved. For 2 minutes, stir and cook the food. Soy sauces, water, and Shaoxing wine should all be combined. Bring the mixture to a boil by increasing the heat. Turn off the heat…
- A deep saucepan with just enough room to hold and flip the ti pang is needed. Toss the sauce from the pan into the pot here. The ti pang should be submerged about 75% of the way. If this is the case, a small amount of extra liquid should be added. The final step is to add the spice bag.
- In a pot, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Once the ti pang reaches a rolling boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot tightly for three hours (the liquid in the pot should have small bubbles). The ti pang should be turned every half hour to achieve consistent cooking.
- Transfer the ti pang to a serving bowl when it is so soft that it can hardly keep its shape, and you can easily remove the center bone. Remove the sauce’s fat by skimming it off. Heat the sauce slightly to make it more like gravy (you can also thicken it with cornstarch slurry). Before serving, season with salt and drizzle with 1/4 tsp sesame oil.
- Place the ti pang in a serving bowl and drizzle with the sauce. Serve!