There are plenty of Asian-style braised pork recipes out there and I can probably say that most of them are dark-brown in color. That color is usually contributed by the soy sauce used in the recipe and/or from browning the meat. The dish usually tastes sweet and savory and often accompanied by hard-boiled eggs. This braised pork with coconut juice is made with the same concept. The only difference from what I have made before (if you google “braised pork” on my site, you’ll see several varieties) is the coconut juice used in this recipe. The coconut juice really add a different depth of flavor to the dish, somehow refreshing and fragrant. This braised pork with coconut juice is so great to go with a bowl of steamed rice !!
BRAISED PORK WITH COCONUT JUICE
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb to 2 lbs of boneless pork shoulder (cut into bite-size cubes)
- 1 ½ cups of canned coconut juice (you can use fresh coconut water if you have access to some)
- 4 shallots (peeled and thinly sliced)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and finely minced)
- 1 thumb-size ginger (peeled and finely minced)
- 2 red Thai chili (stemmed)
- 1 cup of light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp of fish sauce or more to taste
- Dash of salt and pepper
- 4 hard-boiled eggs (peeled)
- 2 Tbsp of extra-virgin coconut oil or peanut oil
- Small bunch of cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Sprinkle pinch of salt and pepper on the meat. Preheat a Dutch oven with oil. Add in the meat in small batches and let it brown on all sides. Do this batch by batch to make sure the meat is browning properly. Remove the meat and continue with the rest and place them on a plate
- To the same pot, add in shallots and saute for about 5 minutes. Add in garlic, ginger, and chilis and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the meat back into the pot. Add in brown sugar, fish sauce, and coconut water. The liquid should just about to cover the meat. Bring it to a boil and then cover and lower the heat to let it simmer for about 1 hour until the meat is really tender
- Once the meat is tender, turn off the heat add int the peeled hard-boiled eggs and let them sit there for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavor and some of the dark color of the sauce (from browning the meat and brown sugar)
- When ready to serve, ladle the soup into serving bowl with half hard-boiled egg on top and garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with a bowl of white rice
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