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Monday, January 30, 2012

Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea Cucumber 海參豬腳, a CNY lunch


** re-post due to some error in earlier post **

Before i go back to my mom's place to celebrate the 9th day of CNY- Pai Tin Kong this evening. I would like to share with you the best Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumbers ( a must have dish during CNY) from my mon (she actually learnt from my Aunt). I cooked this dish when my husband invited his brothers and sisters (around 30 peoples !!) to our house on the 6th day of CNY. I started to prepare Braised Pork knuckles on the 5th day as this dish need longer cooking time.










All guys tossed the Yee Sang ...

Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber


My mother's method of braised pork knuckles with sea cucumbers is slightly difference from the others. She start cooking pork knuckles and sea cucumbers separately as easy to control the softeness and tenderness of both pork knuckles and sea cucumbers. Later she will combine both cooked pork knuckles and sea cucumbers together, and add the very important seasonings, chopped garlic and Tiew Heng wine.

Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber



My Aunt taught my mother to add a special wood sticks that imported from China, too bad, my Aunt could not tell me the exact name of the wood sticks. I will try to find out later and update to you once the info is available..
Updated on 19th May 2012 - I finally brought the special wood sticks to a Chinese herbal shop and checked with them if they know the name of this wood stick. They told me this stick is 春根滕, this is good to remove wind from our body and good for blood circulation. But they also not that sure because every wood sticks look almost the same, and they wonder why this stick is added in this dish..

Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber



Here are the dishes that I cooked for the big lunch that feeding around 30 peoples !!

white-cut chicken

Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber


Deep-fried fish with soy sauce and onion

Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber



Stir-fried Fish Maw with Celery

Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber


ABC soup using the stock from white cut chicken

IMG_8091


Since my 4th SIL practise full time vegetarian, thus I cooked two vegetarian dishes, this is Lor Han Chai

Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber

Braised Shiitake Mushroom,  replaced normal oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce.


Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber

Here come the Braised pork knuckles with sea cucumbers ..


Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber



Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumber
(recipe source : by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover)

To braise pork knuckles
IMG_80922kg pork knuckles (front pork leg)
100g ginger, crushed
10 cloves
2 star anise
10 special wood sticks, optional
1/3cup light soy sauce
3tbsp cooking oil
3tbsp sugar
water

Method
1. Blanch pork knuckles in hot water to remove scum.
2. Heat cooking oil in a wok, add in sugar and stir till sugar melted and turn brown.
3. Add in ginger, cloves, star anise, special wood sticks and pork knuckles, stir to mix well.
4. Add in light soy sauce and sufficient water to cover the pork knuckles and let it cook for about 2 hours under medium to low heat until pork tendered. ( I use pressure cooker and cook for 15mins).


To braise sea cucumbers
500g dried sea cucumber, softened and cleaned, refer steps here
2tbsp cooking oil
3tbsp oyster sauce
1tbsp light soy sauce
2 slices of ginger
water

Method
1. Heat cooking oil in a wok, sauté ginger till aroma.
2. Add in softened sea cucumbers, oyster sauce, light soy sauce and water, cook for 1hour or till sea cucumbers are soft. (Cooking time depend on the type of sea cucumbers that you use)

To prepare Braised Pork Knuckles with Sea cucumbers

1 whole garlic, chopped
2tbsp Chinese wine Tiew Heng 绍兴酒
Salt to taste , 1tbsp of dark caramel sauce

Method
1. Combine both cooked sea cucumbers and pork knuckles in a wok, cook for 10-15mins. (Cooking time depend on the tenderness of the pork knuckles and sea cucumbers)
2. Add in chopped garlic and season with Tiew Heng wine and salt.
3. Dish out and serve hot.


I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #15: Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) which is hosted by Wen's Delight.

54 comments:

Simple Person said...

Gosh .. the sea cucumbers were so fat n juicy... Shall eat 2 full bowl of rice....
Yummy .. 2 thumbs up...
my ears also move.. LOL....

ann low said...

Happy CNY Sonia!
Thanks for sharing this yummy dish. I definitely love to try this pork knuckles, looks very very good!

Angel @ Cook.Bake.Love said...

All the dishes look good. I am hungry now Sonia.

cikmanggis said...

wah meriahnya:)..I simpan satu biji buah passion fruit for you untuk dijadikan benih (Buah pertama dari pokok yang I tanam)

.Bijinya telah kering.Jika Sonia nak tanam I will post it to you...Pls let me know ya:)

3 hungry tummies said...

Wow what a feast you had prepared over there! Gong xi fa cai :)

cikmanggis said...

ok..I'll post it to u tomorrow:)

Ana Regalado said...

Sonia , you made me hungry with all that wonderful dishes ! ;D & that braised pork knuckles with sea cucumber looks really scrumptious !!! Awesome photos , too ;)

Somewhere in Singapore said...

I like sea cucumber, but do not know how to cook, normally is my aunty who cook it...

Catherine Lee said...

Hi, thanks for your lovely recipe. May I ask where do you usually buy your sea cucumber & how do you determine whether it is of good quality ? I hope to cook this dish soon. Thanks !

ping said...

What a feast! And I'm having tar pau tonight ... sigh.
I've never cooked sea cucumber before. The dish looks really good, just like the ones my MIL used to make. She's older now and the family's all away and so gatherings are getting smaller so we don't get big feasts like before.

Little Inbox said...

Happy New year! Bookmarked this recipe for my reference. Thanks!

鲸鱼蓝蓝蓝 said...

很丰富哦:)
我喜欢喝汤:))

Belly Good Cooking said...

I love sea cucumbers and actually ate half bowl of my MIL's sea cucumbers that day, haha. Bookmarked this recipe!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and family too. :D

Imo Teo said...

Aiyoh....hungry oledi,love all dishes here,so nice

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Catherine, usually I buy SC from nearby Chinese herbs shop ( Yok Choy Poh) and i like to buy Kim Shua Shun. Try to look for SC that look dark and wrinkle and no white "kapur". Hope this helps you to cook a yummy SC.

Jane Chew said...

Really Pandai lo. Everything looks so perfect. Sure taste good.

Cuisine Paradise said...

Gong Xi Gong Xi!!! Wow! All your dishes makes me drool especially the braised pork knuckles with sea cucumber!!!! will try this out when my mum soaked new batches of sea cucumber :p

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Gong Hei Fatt Choi Sonia! Hope you had a great CNY celebration! By the look of all those good food, I bet you did, lol! My MIL gave me some sea cucumber last week and I was wondering what to do with it! Thanks for your recipe! ;)

Jessie-CookingMoments said...

OMG, did you cook all these dishes by yourself? I eat pork knuckles but not sea cucumber, everytime when my MIL cooked sea cucumber, the younger generations don't know how to appreciate the food, leaving my parents-in-law to finish them!I know that they are very expensive & nutritious!

When you are not that busy, can you share with me the recipe of the Lor Han Chai? I need to know how did you cook the gravy, can? Thank you!

WendyinKK said...

Wow, what a spread!
Somehow I do not eat sea cucumber but I love pork knuckles :)

Pete said...

Love both sea cucumber and pork knuckles...just finished clearing up after Pai Tin Kong....now already 1.49am.....have to wake up at 4.45am.....lol

Stephanie said...

Sonia... I love to learn from your blog.. I want to know how you make your white-cut chicken "Bak Cham Kai".. It looks so perfect.. mine always comes out unpleasantly..

lena said...

i love all the dishes! i did not cook any pork knuckles this time cos i had this at my mum's place!

Dumpling Love said...

All that food looks amazing, Sonia! I love eating pork knuckles and sea cucumbers...drool! =)

cherry potato said...

恭喜发财!只看相片就很吸引;我很喜欢这道菜肴,谢谢你的分享。

Mel said...

What a spread of dishes on the table!! Every dishes looks so delicious and yummy. I guess I must learn to cook this Braised Pork Knuckles as I loves to eat Pork Knuckles. Since you got hold of that "wood stick" why don't you go to the Yok Choy Poh and ask them what is it?

Li Shuan said...

Sonia, I love all your dishes especially the pork knuckle and sea cucumber. This is the "must have" dish from my mum's kitchen during CNY. I think I need to learn how to cook this and I can cook for them when my parents visit us during winter time:)

Sharon @ Feats of Feasts said...

Hi Sonia, Happy CNY....the spread looks so delicious. I havent dared myself to eat SC yet but pork knuckle? Yummers!

My Little Space said...

Gong Xi Fa Cai to you & your family, Sonia. Whoa, everyone must have gone home with a full tummy! I've reduced meat consuming since a few months ago. And most of the time, I am a vegetarian but not a complete vegan. Have to take it slowly.
Enjoy & have a great time.
Cheers
Kristy

Rose world said...

Yummy! Everyone must have enjoy all the good food you prepared. Happy CNY and Gong Xi Fa Chai!

Rice Bowl Tales 有碗話碗 said...

Wow Sonia, what a feast!! You've cooked so many dishes, and every one of them looked so delicious! I really want to learn the braised-pork-knuckles with sea-cucumber 了!

choi yen said...

Great for collagen supplement!

Christina Kim said...

Happy Chinese New Year to you Sonia!:) Hope you have had a wonderful celebration yesterday too (Pai Ti Kong)! It must have been merry with the blasting of the firecrackers and fireworks everywhere;)
These dishes for reunion dinner looked way better than that offered by top notch Chinese restaurant, and you mentioned YOU cooked them? Wow, I am really impressed!! Your guests are just so lucky :D

Small Kucing said...

thanks for the tips on how to clean the sea cucumber. I was wondering that when I read the post.

Jade said...

你好历害!Cook so nice dishes for 30 people!! :)

Unknown said...

Braised pork knuckles with sea cucumber.. this dish full of collagen..bookmarked bookmarked ^_^

daphne said...

we didn't really celebrate CNY this year.. but we find comfort in reading and looking at all these delicious food!! sea cucumber.. yum!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Jessie and Stephanie, I will share the recipe soon i cook this again, the other day I have no time to record down the recipes since I alone need to prepare these dishes , please wait a bit huh, ^_^

Beau Lotus 涟 said...

You know Sonia, you're amazing! What a feast...

Wen said...

I wish I'm your guest! All the food looks so good!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Oh yummy! Love your braised pork knuckles with sea cucumber, especially the sea cucumber. :)

tigerfish said...

I do enjoy sea cucumber and esp after I found out about sea cucumber's health benefits e.g. easing joint pain, full of collagen.

So your dish of pork knuckles and sea cucumber is full of collagen :)

ogyep said...

Hi Sonia.. I m a Malay.. Can U or anyone out there help me out? My husband's office is going to hold a CNY pot luck party next week. He said that he is suppose to come out with CNY related dishes. Other than cookies and cakes, what will be d best thing to deliver?

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

ogyep, I think Ngoh Hiang is best to serve at a party, check my link here-http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2011/05/chicken-ngoh-hiang-deep-fried-beancurd.html

Hope this help.

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

Happy Chinese New Year Sonia! It's obvious you had a great celebration! ;-) Look at all these delicious food... And it's unfortunate that I can't cook your highly recommended sea cucumber dish....why? Ahem, I'm a little scared of the shape... My weakness of those caterpillar type of shape! I may be able to cook, but I'll faint before I put it in my mouth. LOL. I hope everyone else can enjoy this special dish! =)

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

Hi Sonia, I would like to wish you and your family a belated Happy Chinese New Year. Hope the dragon year brings you many good fortune, luck and health.

ogyep yummy mellow said...

TQ sonia.. good idea.. will try to make for ourselves first.. if ok, proceed then. So, i m asking a permission to copy & paste d recipe ya... do blogwalking @ my place ya..

Colin Woon said...

Food for 30?! You are amazing! Keep that braised pork knuckle recipe going, looks delicious!

Lori said...

Wow, what a group to cook for and what a spread! I've not had sea cucumbers, but every dish here looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sonia
Did you manage to find out the name of the "wood stick".

Thanks.
Caroline

Anonymous said...

what is wood stick? is it cinnamon stick?

Anonymous said...

I am Diana who supplies sea cucumber, fish maw, different types of ikan bilis from Indonesia. Interested parties please email me at Diana.lxw@gmail.com. All dried foods are of high quality and best rates as they are direct supplies from fisherman. Good food starts with fresh ingredients at the most worthwhile prices. I think this dish looks yummy! On a personal note, I have noted this recipe down too. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

U can buy from this sea cucumber importer, enghong medical trading, 0126393018. Is my friend, very big company, they can deliver to u, even u want little bit only.

dried fish maw said...

Dried Fish Maw, Dried Shark Fins, Dried Sea Cucumber, Dried Shrimp, Dried Sea Limpets, Dried Abalone and Cow Gallstones.

http://www.driedfishmaw.com

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