I always loved braising dishes but always been doing Chinese Lor Bak. After my family went to Korea last December, my kids been asking if i can try cooking korea dishes. Decided to challenge cooking this Korean dish - Jokbal (Braised Pork Trotter)! I took reference from a Korean YouTuber and made some adjustments to the dish! Instead of slow cooking it, decided to braise using my thermal pot. Bring to a rolling boil and leave it to continue to cook till the texture of the pork is just nice! 😋😋
It’s my first time buying pork trotters from Fairprice and surprisingly, it’s very fresh and no porky smell! The pork sold at Fairprice is from Borneo, Sarawak. The butcher can also help you to cut and customize the pork you order. And, I’m so happy that I can get fresh kimchi from FairPrice and I don’t have to buy those bottled kimchi! 😍😍
Ingredients:
1 large pig’s trotter
10 cups water
2 tablespoons doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
¼ cup mirin
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons Korean rice syrup (I replaced with maple syrup)
1 tablespoon peeled ginger, thinly sliced
1 stalk of spring onion, chopped for garnishing
½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Coriander leaves for garnishing
For the seasoning pouch (to braise together with the trotter):
1 apple, cleaned, cored, and cut into chunks
8 large red dates
12 garlic cloves, washed
1 tablespoon peeled ginger, thinly sliced
1 medium size onion, cut into chunks
2 big red chilies
4-5 stalks of spring onions, cleaned, fold and tied
2-3 stalks coriander, cut half to separate roots
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
For the dipping sauce, I made Ssamjang, which can be used for other korean dishes for grilled meat. Prepare all ingredients and mix well and set aside:
¼ cup doenjang (fermented soybean paste)
1 tbs gochujang (hot pepper paste)
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tsp honey
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
Method:
(A) Preparing the pig’s trotter:
- Wash and rinse the pig’s trotter in water several times until the water is clear. Fill a large pot with water and soak the pig’s trotter for 12 hours, changing the water 3 to 4 times.
- Strain and squeeze the pig trotter in cold water to remove any leftover blood. Squeeze and change the water a few times until no more blood is seen.
- Pat dry with a kitchen towel. Check if there are any remaining hair on pig’s trotter, if so, remove with a razor/tweezer. The pork trotter Fairprice is clean and very little hair, so I skipped this step.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil (I used thermal pot as I will be using it to cook the trotter). Add the pig’s trotter and 1 tablespoon of thinly sliced ginger. Cover and boil for 20 to 25 minutes over medium high heat.
- Remove from the heat and wash trotter in cold water and clean off the scums. Wash the pot and put the pot back on the stove and put the pig’s trotter inside.
(B) Fill the pouch and cook:
- Add the ingredients to the pouch, tie the end tightly and add it to the pot next to the clean trotter.
- Add 10 cups of water to the pot along with doenjang, mirin, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, salt, and maple syrup. Once boiling, continue to boil at medium heat about 40mins. Periodically turn over the trotter to ensure it is evenly braised. Press the pouch down a couple of times with a wooden spoon. Around 35 mins, turn up the heat again to a rolling boil for a min, off heat and transfer the inner pot to the outer pot. Leave to pot for about 4-5 hours.
- After 5 hours, remove inner pot and heat up to a boil for 10 mins. Remove the trotter and let it cool for 10 to 20 minutes.
- Slice the meat off the bones and cut it into bite size pieces. Arrange it on a plate and sprinkle chopped green onion and sesame seeds over top. Heat up some braising sauce and thicken with corn flour slurry and drizzle on pork. Serve with dipping sauce, lettuce, sliced raw garlic, green chili pepper, kimchi, and more side dishes.
- For those who don’t have thermal pot, you can simmer and braise this over stovetop. Cover and cook 1 hour over medium high heat, turning the trotter so that it can be braised evenly. Press the pouch down a couple of times with a wooden spoon.
- Reduce to medium heat, cover, and cook another hour. Open cover to check to see if the meat is well cooked by poking it with a stainless steel chopstick or a long wooden skewer. If it goes through smoothly and the meat is almost falling off the bones, it’s well cooked. If not, cook longer and add more water as needed. Turn up the heat to high heat and cook another 10 minutes with the lid off.
- The braising sauce will evaporate a little and the trotter will get browner and shinier, as you boil longer. Remove the trotter and let it cool for 10 to 20 minutes.
- Slice the meat off the bones and cut it into bite size pieces. Arrange it on a plate and sprinkle chopped green onion and sesame seeds over top. Heat up some braising sauce and thicken with corn flour slurry and drizzle on pork. Serve with dipping sauce, lettuce, sliced raw garlic, green chili pepper, kimchi, and more side dishes.
