The Art of Braising Pork with Cloves and Star Anise

My version of my grandma Mary's teepong pork, it's tender and juicy and it's braised with cloves and star anise, to give it a dark sweetness that's intensely good. I start by seasoning a pork shoulder on all sides, making sure to get a layer of oil heating up in my Dutch oven. This will help the pork develop a crust and lock in its juices.

To achieve this crust, I put the fat side down first, so I can steer the pan when it's hot. The pork fat will also add flavor to the rest of the pork. Next, I quarter up some onions, which will add a subtle sweetness to the dish. I grab some garlic and ginger, and give them a little smash to help them incorporate. The skin on the knob of ginger is next, which I scrape off with the edge of a spoon to reveal its flesh.

Ginger adds a nice zinginess to the dish, and I check on my pork to make sure it's ready to flip. While I wait for the pan to heat up, I grab my spices, including star anise and cloves. These add a little licorice flavor and a dark, warm taste that will add depth to the tea pong. Speaking of which, I've got all the ingredients ready to go.

I get the pork out of the pan and let it set aside while I cook up some onions and other veggies, adding my garlic cloves to the pot as well. Next, I use a fine duster to grate in my fresh ginger, adding a little handful of each spice to the pot. These will be strained out at the end, but they have such amazing flavor in their full form.

I add three tablespoons of dark brown sugar for some sweetness, stirring it around until it melts. The aroma is already starting to fill the kitchen! I grab my liquid, adding a cup of soy sauce to give it great saltiness and flavor. I also add a cup of sherry vinegar, which will add vinegary acidity and caramel flavor.

Now, I add the pork back into the pot, this time with the fat side up. When it's frozen, the fat will fall down into the meat, making it extra juicy. I cover the pot with water and let it come to a simmer. The dark spices are now filling the air, and it looks beautiful.

To finish the dish, I gently lower in some hard-boiled eggs, which will soak up all of that flavor. My dad is making little slits all over the eggs so the juices can get into them. After just five minutes on the stove, the eggs are cooked to perfection. Now it's time to slice the pork against the grain into big thick slices.

As I prepare to serve, I realize how delicious everything looks. The eggs are perfectly cooked, and the pork is tender and juicy. To complete the dish, I ladle some of the juices over the top, adding even more flavor. This tea pong is a true family favorite, and it's easy to see why it's been passed down for generations.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enmy version of my grandma mary's teepong pork it's tender and juicy and it's braised with cloves and star nice to give it a dark sweetness that's intensely good to start i'm seasoning a pork shoulder on all sides and i'll get a layer of oil heating up in my dutch oven and i want to sear the pork shoulder first which will help it get that crust and lock in the juices i'm putting the fat side down first so that i can steer it when the pan is the hottest and all that pork fat will help flavor the rest of the pork all right i'm going to quarter up some onions as this ears these will add a subtle sweetness next i'll grab some garlic and ginger and i'll give them a little smash help them incorporate and then i'm gonna peel a knob of ginger just by using the edge of a spoon to scrape off the skin ginger will add nice zigginess let me check on my pork it's smelling so good in here this is ready to flip i'll let it sear on the other side while i grab my spices i've got star nice and cloves starring these adds a little licorice flavor and cloves are so dark and warm these are gonna add amazing depth of flavor to the tea pong okay speaking of which i'm gonna get the pork out of the pan it's sounding good i'll let this set aside while i cook up my onions and other veggies also throw in my garlic cloves and then i'll use a fine duster to grate in my fresh ginger next i'll add my cloves and star and ease i'm gonna be careful not to eat these at the end but they have such amazing flavor in their full form i'm gonna add a little handful of each these will get strained out at the end next i'll add three tablespoons of dark brown sugar for some sweetness i'll stir these around and let the sugar melt it's smelling so good in here already now i'm gonna grab my liquid i'm gonna add a cup of soy sauce which will add great saltiness and flavor i'll also add a cup of sherry vinegar which will add that vinegary acidity it also adds some great caramel flavor now i'll add the pork back in i want it to be fat side up this time because when it freezes the fat will kind of fall down into the meat and make it extra juicy now cover it with water and let it come to a simmer i'm smelling those dark spices it looks beautiful i'm gonna let this braise at 325 for three and a half to four hours until it's tender are the hard-boiled eggs that we're going to put into the juices of the pork and they're going to soak up all of that flavor so you want to cut these all around yes gently lower the eggs in and then we're going to reduce all of these juices to make a sauce so my dad is making little slits all over the hard-boiled eggs so that the juices can get all in up into the yolk into the yolk all right let me put this back on the stove we're gonna let the juices reduce just for about five minutes while these cook i'll slice the pork and maybe we can sneak a taste i'm slicing this against the grain into big thick slices how are the eggs doing they're doing great do you want to spoon them on next to the pork yes these are a really good looking loot done look at that this looks amazing i want to taste it dude oh yeah can i get the ladle mm-hmm look at this yeah ladle some of the juices all over more flavor perfect youmy version of my grandma mary's teepong pork it's tender and juicy and it's braised with cloves and star nice to give it a dark sweetness that's intensely good to start i'm seasoning a pork shoulder on all sides and i'll get a layer of oil heating up in my dutch oven and i want to sear the pork shoulder first which will help it get that crust and lock in the juices i'm putting the fat side down first so that i can steer it when the pan is the hottest and all that pork fat will help flavor the rest of the pork all right i'm going to quarter up some onions as this ears these will add a subtle sweetness next i'll grab some garlic and ginger and i'll give them a little smash help them incorporate and then i'm gonna peel a knob of ginger just by using the edge of a spoon to scrape off the skin ginger will add nice zigginess let me check on my pork it's smelling so good in here this is ready to flip i'll let it sear on the other side while i grab my spices i've got star nice and cloves starring these adds a little licorice flavor and cloves are so dark and warm these are gonna add amazing depth of flavor to the tea pong okay speaking of which i'm gonna get the pork out of the pan it's sounding good i'll let this set aside while i cook up my onions and other veggies also throw in my garlic cloves and then i'll use a fine duster to grate in my fresh ginger next i'll add my cloves and star and ease i'm gonna be careful not to eat these at the end but they have such amazing flavor in their full form i'm gonna add a little handful of each these will get strained out at the end next i'll add three tablespoons of dark brown sugar for some sweetness i'll stir these around and let the sugar melt it's smelling so good in here already now i'm gonna grab my liquid i'm gonna add a cup of soy sauce which will add great saltiness and flavor i'll also add a cup of sherry vinegar which will add that vinegary acidity it also adds some great caramel flavor now i'll add the pork back in i want it to be fat side up this time because when it freezes the fat will kind of fall down into the meat and make it extra juicy now cover it with water and let it come to a simmer i'm smelling those dark spices it looks beautiful i'm gonna let this braise at 325 for three and a half to four hours until it's tender are the hard-boiled eggs that we're going to put into the juices of the pork and they're going to soak up all of that flavor so you want to cut these all around yes gently lower the eggs in and then we're going to reduce all of these juices to make a sauce so my dad is making little slits all over the hard-boiled eggs so that the juices can get all in up into the yolk into the yolk all right let me put this back on the stove we're gonna let the juices reduce just for about five minutes while these cook i'll slice the pork and maybe we can sneak a taste i'm slicing this against the grain into big thick slices how are the eggs doing they're doing great do you want to spoon them on next to the pork yes these are a really good looking loot done look at that this looks amazing i want to taste it dude oh yeah can i get the ladle mm-hmm look at this yeah ladle some of the juices all over more flavor perfect you\n"