Salt and Pepper Pork Hock
Shandong-style Salt and Pepper Pork Knuckle is characterized by a crispy exterior and tender interior, with a fragrant, savory, and salty flavor profile.
Ingredients
Pork hock (about 1.5 kg)
1
Vegetable oil (actually uses about 50 g)
2 kg
Cooking wine
15 g
Soy sauce
15 g
Sichuan peppercorns
5 g
Star anise
5 g
Salt
7 g
Sichuan pepper salt (served in a small dish alongside the hock)
10 g
Sugar (made into caramel color and brushed onto the skin)
a pinch
Chicken broth
2.5 kg
Instructions
1
Step 1
Blanch the pork hock in a pot of boiling water until the skin firms, take it out, soak it in cold water, and scrape off any stray hairs until clean. Brush a thin coat of caramel color onto the skin and place the hock in a bowl. Add the cooking wine, soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and salt, then steam over boiling water for about 2 hours until the hock is very tender. Remove and drain off any excess moisture.
2
Step 2
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok to about 80% hot, then lower in the hock and deep-fry until the skin turns golden and crispy. Remove and drain off the oil, then cut the hock into strips and arrange them on a serving plate. Serve the Sichuan pepper salt in a small dish alongside the hock.
