Braised pork with daikon gives meat that falls apart soaked in the braising liquid, with daikon that drinks up the flavour while keeping its shape. The difficulty is that daikon cooks faster than pork, so putting them in together turns it to mush.
So the pork braises gently for 20 to 25 minutes first, and the daikon only joins for the final 10 to 12 minutes before the soy sauce and annatto oil go in.
This batch weighs about 1.2kg, at roughly 256 calories per 100g.
Method
Rub the pork with coarse salt, rinse it, drain it and cut it into bite sized pieces. Marinate the pork with 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon of MSG, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of cooking oil along with a little minced shallot and minced spring onion white, and leave it 15 to 20 minutes.
Peel the daikon, cut it into pieces the same size as the pork, soak it in lightly salted water for 2 to 3 minutes, then drain and season it with 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder.
Put 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and 2 tablespoons of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend in a pan and cook over low heat until it turns a deep amber, then take it off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of boiling water.
Turn the heat back on, fry the minced shallot until fragrant, then add the pork and raise the heat, stirring until the meat firms up and catches at the edges.
Pour in a small bowl of hot water, or fresh coconut water in its place, cover, lower the heat and braise gently for 20 to 25 minutes until the pork is tender.
Add the daikon and braise another 10 to 12 minutes, season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of annatto oil, and braise another 5 minutes for it to take up the flavour.
For a deeper amber on the meat, raise the heat and toss quickly for 2 to 3 minutes, then scatter over the spring onion and black pepper and take the pot off the heat.
Tips
Pork belly or shoulder carrying both lean and fat is the cut that keeps the braise from drying out, and taking it as one piece gives neater slices.
The daikon goes in later because it cooks faster than the pork.
For a better colour, a little caramel sauce or dark soy sauce does the job, as kOBE Monk Fruit Blend adds no colour.
A gentle braise with the lid off for the last 5 minutes is what thickens the braising liquid.
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.