Braised Pork with Spicy Soy Sauce

Here’s one of those high-mileage dishes that you cook once and eat many times. You can, of course, eat it hot (with lots of rice or noodles and stir-fried vegetables), but I like to make it in advance, refrigerate, and skim off the fat, then slice the meat and use it in one of three ways: reheated in the sauce, cold in sandwiches, or added to stir-fries or rice or noodle bowls.

1 fresh hot chile, seeded and minced, or 1 dried hot chile, seeded and crumbled, or to taste

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, excess fat removed, cut into chunks

1/2 cup soy sauce or nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or half of each

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup chicken, beef, or vegetable stock (to make your own, see vegetable stock
) or water

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 cup thinly sliced onion

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper

• Combine all the ingredients except for 1 tablespoon of the lime juice and the salt and pepper in a large pot with a lid. If you have the time, let the mixture sit, refrigerated, for up to a day.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, turn the heat down to a minimum, and cook, covered, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until the pork is tender, less than 1 hour. (At this point, you may refrigerate the dish for a day or two before proceeding.)
• Remove the lid, raise the heat, and boil until the liquid is reduced to less than 1 cup, about 10 minutes.
• Taste, add plenty of pepper and some salt if necessary, taste again, and add more pepper, chile, or soy sauce as needed. Sprinkle with the remaining lime juice and serve immediately or refrigerate and use as described above.

Braised Pork with Tofu.

In Step 3, remove the roast from the pot and set aside to cool for a few minutes. As you reduce the sauce, stir in 1 pound cubed firm tofu. Slice the roast and serve it topped with the sauce and tofu, garnished with chopped scallion.

MAKES: 4 to 6 servings

TIME: About 1 hour