Braised Pork (Patatim)

I have been missing home a lot so I've been cooking dishes that are my family's favorite.  This dish is my youngest sister's favorite.  I made a trip to an Asian store (which was almost an hour away from our house) and found neatly cut pork hock that was not too fatty.  My husband loves pork hock too, he thought I was cooking his favorite which is "Crispy Pata".  He loved this dish nonetheless. Other version or this dish are TianFuHao and Hong Ba.

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 lb pork hock, cut into 3-4 pieces (you can use pork belly or pork shoulder)

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

2-3 bay leaf

2-3 pcs. 5-star anise

4-5 Shiitake Mushrooms, soaked (optional)

1 cup of water (more if needed)

1/2 cup dried banana blossom, soaked in water to soften (optional)

1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

Wash pork hock very well, and dry it with paper towels.

In a Dutch oven or pot, heat the oil and sear the pork until it is brown on all sides.

If you are using a slow cooker, transfer the pork and add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar and add the banana blossom last.

Cook on medium for 2 hours, or until the pork is tender.

Sprinkle the sugar and stir the sauce so that the sugar dissolves in the liquid.

Cook for another 3 minutes.

Serve steamed with rice.