Traditional Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock
Traditional Taiwanese Pork Hock
Taiwanese Birthday Braised Pork Hock
Today is my BIRTHDAY, and I will show you how to make Traditional Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock, which brings good luck year after year.
Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock symbolizes “forwardness,” eating Pork Hock on your birthday or Lunar New Year brings prosperity, progress, and lots of good luck in the new year!
It is also incredibly delicious! The Pork Hock is cooked until fork tender and packed with umami flavor. Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock served with long thin noodles to symbolize good health and long life.
Soy Braised Pork Hock Ingredients
- 3 lb Pork Hock cut into big chunks
- ½ cup Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Dark Soy Sauce
- 3 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 4 Star Anise
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 10 cloves Garlic
- 4 slices Ginger
- 3 stocks of Green Onion
- ¼ cup Chinese Cooking Wine optional
- 4 tbsp of Brown Sugar or Rock Sugar
- 2 cup Water
Preparing Pork Hock For Cooking
If you never tried Pork Hock before, it is even more delicious than pork belly when cooked correctly. Pork Hock is less heavy and fatty and is packed with collagen. Pork Hock is a popular dish in Asia that people eat for nice, youthful-looking skin! You know your Pork Hock is braised correctly when your lips are stuck together after dinner from all that collagen!
One of the most important steps when preparing Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock is cleaning the pork. I always make sure to boil the pork for 5-8 minutes before draining and rinsing it with cold water. Scrub the pork to get out all the blood and dirt before adding it to the instant pot to cook. This simple step will allow the sauce it is pure and pork to be more flavourful.
Cooking Pork Hock with Instant Pot
I am using an Instant Pot today to save time; however, if you do not have an Instant Pot, you can add 2 extra cups of water and cook on the stove for an additional 1 hour on medium-low heat.
INSTANT POT I RECOMMEND: https://amzn.to/3iQNLUl
How To Make Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock
- In a pot, add in pork hock and fill the pot with water. Turn the heat up to medium-high and once it starts simmering, let it boil for 5-8 minutes or until the water is no longer red. Drain the pork and scrub clean with cold water.
- In the Instant Pot, add in pork, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, star anise, garlic, cinnamon stick, ginger, green onion, Chinese cooking wine, brown sugar, and water. Put the lid on to pressure cook for 45 minutes. If you like it extra soft, let it natural release instead.
- In the meantime, prepare the side you want to eat the braised pork hock with, whether rice or noodles. Enjoy!
Do you want more INSTANT POT recipes? Here are some of my go-to recipes that I LOVE!
- Creme Brulee (3 Minutes, 5 Ingredients)
- Authentic Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (Instant Pot & EASY)
- Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly (FORK TENDER)
- Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Traditional Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock
By Tiffy Cooks
Ingredients
- 3 lb Pork Hock cut into big chunks
- ½ cup Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Dark Soy Sauce
- 3 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 4 Star Anise
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 10 cloves Garlic
- 4 slices Ginger
- 3 stocks of Green Onion
- ¼ cup Chinese Cooking Wine optional
- 4 tbsp of Brown Sugar or Rock Sugar
- 2 cup Water
Instructions
- In a pot, add in pork hock and fill the pot with water. Turn the heat up to medium-high and once it starts simmering, let it boil for 5-8 minutes or until the water is no longer red. Drain the pork and scrub clean with cold water.
- In the Instant Pot, add in pork, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, star anise, garlic, cinnamon stick, ginger, green onion, Chinese cooking wine, brown sugar, and water. Put the lid on to pressure cook for 45 minutes. If you like it extra soft, let it natural release instead.
- In the meantime, prepare the side you want to eat the braised pork hock with, whether rice or noodles. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I am using an Instant Pot today to save time; however, if you do not have an Instant Pot, you can add 2 extra cups of water and cook on the stove for an additional 1 hour on medium-low heat.
- One of the most important steps when preparing Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock is cleaning the pork. I always make sure to boil the pork for 5-8 minutes before draining and rinsing it with cold water. Scrub the pork to get out all the blood and dirt before adding it to the instant pot to cook. This simple step will allow the sauce it is pure and pork to be more flavourful.
My boyfriend is allergic to shellfish. Anything to sub for oyster sauce?
vegetarian oyster sauce 🙂 link is under my condiment list
Hi Tiffy, do u think this recipe will taste good if I used pork ribs instead?
Hey there! You can definitely use this braise for pork ribs, you may have to adjust the amount of time, but it should work!
What kind of noodles do you eat with this? Not sure what to look for at the market. Thanks!
Hi Cee! I love eating this with sun dried QQ noodles from kai dong!
We had this tonight for dinner. I had plans to make a German meal with our hocks, but had zero sauerkraut. Luckily I had everything for this lovely dish. It was really tasty, we paired it with steamed broccoli and a rice grain blend. Thank you for sharing the recipe! We have more farm fresh pork coming soon, and we’ll be sure to save the hocks for this next time. I had a lot of sauce leftover, do you ever use it a second time? Maybe a stir fry or marinade? I hate to just throw it away.
We do use it a second time! you can reuse it for pork hock or pork belly again, or I like to use it for tofu and eggs the second round.
YUMMMMM!!! These turned out so tasty, what a great recipe! Thanks for sharing it!
I’m cooking this for my in-laws tonight and I’m pretty excited. What temp should I start them on the stove top. I don’t have an insta pot
Hi Damon, This should be on the stovetop at medium high!
Hi Tiffy, thank you so much for all your delicious recipes. I have tried several and they have all been amazing. I just need a quick clarification. On the notes for this recipe you said to cook it on medium low on a stovetop but on the answer to Damon you said medium high on the stovetop. I will follow the instructions on your notes but I just wanted to be sure
This is so delicious and easy to make. Thanks for the recipe. I don’t need to go to the restaurant and order this dish anymore!
I made this the first time and it was delicious. I tweaked it a bit to make it less sweet and now I make it once a week. I love it. I don’t eat it with rice or noodles, just the hocks and the broth. I never thought of reusing the broth but I will attempt now. Sounds interesting
Love this recipe and love your recipes here and on Instagram! Thank you so much for sharing wonderful and delicious recipes that are easy to prepare!
could this work with ham hocks?
Hi Ali,
I wouldn’t use ham hocks for this recipe, simply because ham hocks are already cured. This recipe relies on slow simmering to cook the flavors in rather than using ham. You should look for pork hocks at the butcher section.
Tiffy
What type of noodles do you recommend? I want to make it exactly like your photos!
Hi AD,
My current favorite is the kai dong sun dried QQ Noodles with this Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock recipe. It has that thin noodle texture but doesn’t get soggy after soaking in the braised sauce.
Tiffy
I loved this Pork Hock recipe, the house smelled so aromatic. I just needed to cook it for longer in my Multi Cooker under pressure for an hour and half. Such a beautiful flavour, I will definitely be making it again, have already file your recipe. Put the left over stock in a jug to repurpose/freeze. Loved your comments on that, I do a Japanese tofu, Agedashi Tofu, which this might work a treat with the Taiwanese flavour base as an alternative.
I skipped the star anise as I don’t have any at home, and used a whole hock – 45 minutes wasn’t quite enough time (as suspected, due it being a larger piece) so I started the instant pot for another 30 and it was perfect! Incredible flavorful, and this will definitely be a staple at home!
Are the cinnamon sticks necessary?
Hi Amy, Cinnamon gives it a warm, earthy flavor. If you’re not a fan of cinnamon, you can always skip it!
Tiffy
How would making this recipe in a crock pot alter the cooking time / temperature? Super excited to try it out!!
Hi, instant pot pressure cook on low or high?
Hi My, pressure cook on high for this recipe!
Tiffy
Ugh – I didn’t watch the video before making this – I only read the recipe card. The pork was supposed to be cut into small pieces! I put a whole hock in the Instant Pot, and it turned an unappetizing gray because there wasn’t enough liquid to submerge and color it. Tastes ok though.