Tonporo / dongpo rou stewed pork

The aroma of these spices takes me back to the streets of Taiwan.

<Ingredients>

400 g chunk of pork (fatty part, pork butt in photo)
5-6 green onions
1 small knob ginger
Spices (anything available from among ginger slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise, hua jiao Sichuan pepper, whole cloves, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, dried licorice, dried caoguo/tsaoko Amomum fruit)
1 1/2 tbsp sake
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 1/2 tbsp soy sauce


<Directions>
1.

Cut green onions into a length that fits in pot. Make 2-3 bundles, and tightly tie.
Put ginger and spices in a small tea bag, or wrap in a cloth or coffee filter and tie.

2.

Quickly boil pork in plenty of water. Drain.

3.

In a pot, put all ingredients, add water to where it barely covers pork, and bring to boil on high heat.

Skim, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 2 hours. If there is lots of liquid left in pot, remove cover and reduce 1/2 to 1/3.

Occasionally turn upside down.

Remove fat that comes to surface while cooking, or when having lots of time, remove solidified fat after cooling.

4.

Serve warm, sliced.

<Notes>

• Pork belly is typically used. It is extremely fatty, but extra fat will disappear in the cooking process, and it gives a heavenly tender texture at the end.