Paksiw na pata ng baboy

Paksiw is a Filipino cooking method. With fish and seafood, paksiw means cooking with a sour base. The souring agent is usually vinegar or kamias. When cooking meat, paksiw means braising the meat in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. With paksiw na pata (pork leg with knuckles), a few sprigs of dried oregano and handful of bulaklak ng saging is added for flavor. Despite the name, bulaklak ng saging, or banana blossoms, do not come from the banana plant. They are dried lily buds. What is known in the west as banana blossoms is called puso ng saging (banana heart) locally.

Pork pata may be the front or hind leg. The front is preferred since it is meatier.

Ingredients :

1 pork pata, chopped into 1″ slices
3/4 c. of strong native vinegar
3/4 c. of dark soy sauce
3/4 c. or more of tightly-packed brown sugar
1 whole garlic, pierced with a sharp pointed knife in several sections
2 whole onions, peeled
1 bay leaf
5-6 peppercorns
a handful of bulaklak ng saging
a few sprigs of dried oregano

Cooking procedure :

Wash the pork pata well and place in a casserole. Pour in just enough water to cover the meat. Add the rest of the ingredients. Slow cook for 1^1/2 to 2 hours or until very tender. The meat should literally fall off from the bones. Check the liquid once in a while; add about 1/2 to 3/4 c. of water if the mixture gets too dry during cooking.

Alternatively, pressure-cook for an hour. When pressure-cooking, reduce the amount of water to only about 1^1/2 cups.

Serving suggestion: Chill overnight. Carefully separate the meat from the bones and cut into 2″ chunks. Discard the bones, bulaklak ng saging, oregano and bay leaf. Reheat the meat with the sauce; add more soy sauce, vinegar or sugar, if necessary. Serve hot.

In the mood for more food?

1. Tastebook coming out in October
2. Pork & Kangkong in Black Bean Sauce
3. Penne with pesto and grilled fillet of sole
4. Chicken and cabbage spring rolls
5. Crispy Chicken Breast Fillets
6. Surreal Gourmet’s smashed potatoes
7. Kitchenware sale and the breakfast blog
8. Hot and sour soup
9. Vinaigrette as a dipping sauce
10. Blue marlin with hoisin sauce and sesame seeds

About Pinoy Cook

• About the author
• Cooking philosophy
• Food photography
• The noche buena section
• Product review policy
• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Recipe archive
• Published articles
• Food from all over
• E-mail the author

Readers

 Subscribe in a reader

Asian cooking

• Sweet and sour chicken
• Steamed fish in sesame oil
• Crispy catfish and green mango salad (yum pla dook foo)
• Fish egg soup with lemongrass and galangal
• Char sui (Chinese barbecue sauce)
• Beef Siomai Mami
• Tofu and Vegetables Stir-fry
• Chicken and coconut cream soup
• Japaneses-style Vegetable Stir-fry
• Sam’s Japanese rolls

How to cook

• Crispy chicken strips with sweet and sour sauce
• Herb-infused olive oil
• Stuffing a duck with aromatics
• Braised bangus (milkfish) fillets
• Fried tokwa (firm tofu)
• Rib-eye steak
• Soup tricks
• Stewed mung beans
• A more flavorful pancit canton (chow mein)
• How to extract tamarind juice

Sidenotes