Jokbal (Korean Braised Pork Trotters), Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener
International dishesBraised DishesKoreaabout 2 hours 30 minutes
Jokbal gives you rounds of pork trotter with glossy brown skin and meat that falls from the bone while still holding its shape. Two rounds of braising with soy sauce, apple and aromatics build a deep, savory flavor. The hardest parts are clearing the strong smell and keeping the meat from breaking apart over a long braise.
A 20 minute soak in water with vinegar, followed by a first quick braise, is what clears the smell. Lifting the meat into a basin of cold water between the two braises is what firms the skin instead of leaving it soggy.
This batch weighs about 8.4kg, at roughly 59 calories per 100g.
Method
Bone out the 2 pork trotters, scrape the skin clean of hair and tie them tightly with string. Mix 1 liter of water with 30ml white vinegar and soak the trotters for 20 minutes.
Wash 1 apple, halve it and cut it into quarters. Peel 2 onions and quarter them. Slice 1 piece of ginger, halve 5 spring onions and finely chop the last one.
Halve 10 jujubes. Prepare 2 tea filter bags, one holding 5g peppercorns, 5 dried chilies, 1 star anise and 1 broken cinnamon stick, the other holding 5g coffee beans.
Put the trotters in a pressure cooker with 2 liters of water, 2 halved spring onions and 8 slices of ginger, and cook for 10 minutes.
Lift the meat into a basin of cold water so it firms up and crisps better in the second braise.
Mix the braising liquid: dissolve 54g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 30g doenjang, 60g Korean mirin, 15g fine salt, 60ml soy sauce and 120ml malt syrup in a large bowl, then add 1 liter of water and stir well.
Return the trotters to the pot with the onion, jujubes, apple, sliced ginger, the remaining halved spring onions and the 2 spice bags. Pour in the braising liquid and another 1 liter of water, simmer for 30 minutes, then keep it warm for 30 minutes more.
Make the dipping sauce: put 15g salted shrimp, 5g ground pepper, 5g Korean chili powder, 5g finely chopped spring onion, 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds and 2.5ml water in a blender and grind smooth. Add 30g doenjang and blend for about 2 minutes more.
Lift out the trotters, cut off the string, let them rest for about 10 minutes, then slice into bite sized pieces and serve with the dipping sauce.
Tips
Choose trotters that feel firm, with a dry cut surface and pink, springy meat, and pass over any that look gray green or feel slimy.
Malt syrup is still a sugar, used here for its gloss, so it is worth keeping to a small amount.
Doenjang and salted shrimp are sold at Korean grocery stores, and Vietnamese mam tep works in place of the salted shrimp.
Without a pressure cooker, braise on the stove for about 2 hours, turning the trotters over halfway.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly in cold liquid, so the braising mix needs another stir after 5 minutes before it goes into the pot.
The meat rests for 10 minutes before slicing, since cutting it too hot leaves ragged slices that fall apart.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.