Blackspring's Nan's Pork Hock

This is the stuff of legends, and I'm not kidding. Blackspring's Nan's Pork Hock recipe is probably the most famous recipe amongst the GU foodie crowd, one of those that gets posted again and again because it is sooooooooooooooo good. Even reading the recipe you know it would be good.

I've always wanted to make it, but the difficulty is trying to locate pork hock in central London (Sorcha has mentioned it is sometimes available cheap at the Ginger Pig, but I rarely go to Borough Market). It's one of those cuts that the Chinese love; I remember my mum buying them when I was little and making like 5 different meals out of one hock, which apparently only used to be 50p each. After dim sum in the Docklands, we went for our usual grocery shop at one of the big Chinese supermarkets, and I spotted they had a glorious display of hocks. I dutifully bought a huge one for less than £3.

The recipe, as c&p'ed, is:

"1 giant pork hock (size doesn't matter) -1 lump of ginger roughly sliced -2 tbsp (or more if you fancy) dou ban jiang (chili bean sauce - I use AMOY brand) -2 tbsp brown sugar -3 tbsp dark soy sauce -3 tbsp light soy sauce (I use Kikkoman for giant umami kick) -2 star anise 2-3 spring onions or half a little red onion AND: 2 tbsp rice wine (not essential) 1 tsp 5-spice powder (not essential)

Put all ingredients into a deep pot with enough water to cover the hock completely and bring to the boil, then simmer for 4-5 hours. You will know when it is done when the house starts smelling amazing and the meat falls off the bone. don't worry if the pork hock looks fatty when you buy it, it all rises and you can skim it off at the end. what you are left with is a silky gelatinous amalgamation of very lean shredded pork (almost like Texan slow-cooked brisket) that is melt in the mouth. You won't need a knife. You can cut through it with a spoon. Serve with some simple steamed pak choi on steamed rice, or over thin white rice noodles in a deep bowl with lots of meaty liquor."

It was also a little celebration of the fact that I now have a little Chinese grocery shop at the end of my road (hurrah for Chinese immigrants in East London!). I was able to get tons of star anise (八角), five spice powder (五香粉) and the chilli bean paste (豆瓣醬) at bargainous prices:

OK, to start with, with everything in the pan, it doesn't look too promising:

But after stewing it for 5 hours, the liquid is mostly evaporated, the meat is falling off the bone. My house still smells amazing:

I managed to get so much meat out of the hock. Last night I had it with some panfried tofu and stir-fried spinach, which according to my mum is a lethal combination which will give me cancer. I think I shall die from my arteries being completely clogged up first. As you can see, the meat is just so soft, I am already thinking of experimenting with beef brisket whenever I manage to find some:

I am actually eating my second meal of it right now, and I think there are at least another 4 meals left I can get out of it. It's one of those times when I do need Eugene around to eat up my food, but the horrible person has gone to Tokyo this week. This is obviously revenge for him going to have so much Japanese yumminess :)