Burmese Red Pork Stew (Tasty & Sons)

By stancec44

John Gorham, chef at Tasty n Sons in Portland, OR, knew he'd scored when his friends raved about the soulful dish of meltingly tender spiced pork and briny pickled eggs he served them one night. "The next morning, I made a pot of rice and thought, Wow, this combination would be such a great breakfast." Indeed it is, no matter what time of day you eat it.

Ingredients

• Pickled Eggs
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 whole star anise
• 5 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• Stew
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons chili oil
• 2 pounds pork shoulder (Boston butt), cut into 1"–1 1/2" cubes
• 1 pound fresh pork belly, skin removed, cut into 1"–1 1/2" cubes
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Steamed white rice
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• ingredient info
• Look for chili oil and chili paste at better supermarkets and at Asian markets.

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Pickled Eggs
Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve honey. Let cool. Place eggs in a jar or bowl. Pour soy brine over; add water just to cover eggs. Cover; chill overnight.

Stew
Whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili oil in a medium bowl. Add pork shoulder and belly; toss to coat. Cover and chill, tossing occasionally, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 275°. Heat vegetable oil in a large ovenproof skillet. Drain pork, reserving marinade. Working in batches, cook pork, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer pork to a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Spoon fat from surface of juices in skillet and discard. Return pork and reserved marinade to pan. Add garlic, ginger, and chili paste; set aside.
Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and boil syrup, occasionally swirling and brushing down side of pan with a wet pastry brush (do not stir), until deep amber in color.

Pour caramel over pork mixture. Add 1/2 cup water to saucepan; stir over medium heat to dissolve any remaining caramel. Pour caramel water into skillet with pork. Stir to blend. Cover tightly; bake, stirring every 30 minutes, until pork is very tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Drain pickled eggs; halve or coarsely chop. Spoon steamed rice into bowls. Ladle stew over steamed rice. Garnish with pickled eggs and scallions.