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Braised Pork Shanks with Black Beans
Braised Pork Shanks with Black Beans
Shanks from any animal are one of my favorite cuts. The shank is between the knee and ankle. Regardless of what animal you are using, shanks need to be braised for a long period of time in order to become tender. Other than the meat being extremely tender and flavorful, my favorite part of shanks is the bone marrow from inside the shin bone. Suck out that meat jelly goodness.This just so happens to be one of the easiest and least expensive recipes on stonedsoup.net. Pork shanks at my local Asian market cost $1.79lb; costing me $4 just for all of this meat. The can of black beans cost less than $1. I always have on hand in abundance all of the other ingredients. So this entire meal that is enough for 4 large servings cost around $6 to make. You can’t eat out a meal of this quality for at price.One pot meals by one pothead.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2-2 1/2 lbs pork shanks
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp sichuan peppercorns
- 2 whole star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 green onion cut into 3rds
- 2” ginger cut in half
- 1/4 tsp five spice powder
- 4 cups water
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
- 1 can black beans plus all of the liquid
Instructions
- Place Sichuan peppercorns, coriander seeds, and star anise in the middle of a 6”x6” piece of cheese cloth.
- Fold it over like so.
- Tie it into a knot. This is also a great way to wrap up a bud if you don’t have baggies or a flour tortilla.
- Heat up cooking oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add in the pork shanks. Sear on both sides for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour in the water along with the garlic, ginger, green onion, cinnamon stick, five spice powder, and the cheese cloth spice sack. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes.
- Add in th soy sauces and palm sugar. Cover. Turn heat up to medium high. Simmer for an hour.
- Add in a can of black beans with it’s liquid. Cover and continue to simmer on medium high heat for another hour.
- The liquid at this point should’ve reduced by more than half. If there is more liquid in the pot then that, uncover and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Peruvian Beans
Peruvian Beans
Beans are a staple in Peruvian cuisine. The first known beans in the Americas were found in Peru during an archeological dig, dating back thousands of years. We now know the bean as mayocoba, canary, or Mexican yellow beans. They are kind of similar to a pinto bean, but are creamier in texture. These beans can be used in soups, stews, salads, refried, and as a side dish like in this recipe.Mayocoba beans can be found in any grocery. For this particular recipe, I used dried beans instead of canned. I personally prefer dried over canned because they absorb more of the juices. They are also half the price and don’t contain extra salt. I cooked them in my Instant Pot. They take only 30 minutes without soaking. Peruvian beans will always contain onions, garlic, carrots, some type of pepper, sugar, tomato paste, and a vinegar; sweet and savory with a touch of acidity. These beans can be garnished with cilantro, slices of avocado, a dollop of plain yogurt, or lime wedges. You can also eat these beans as a main course over rice.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 carrot julienned
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 chipotle peppers chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups vegie or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 cups mayocoba beans
- 1 tbsp corn or tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp water
Garnish
- avocado sliced
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add in the onions and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Stir in the carrots and bell pepper. Sauté for another 4 minutes.
- Add in the cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle peppers, and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the stock, honey, and red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in the beans. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Uncover. Make a slurry from the cornstarch and water. Add to the beans and stir. The beans will thicken in a minute or two. Turn off the heat.
Aji de Gallina (Creamed Spicy Chicken)
Aji de Gallina (Spicy Creamed Chicken)
Every time I go Stoned Souping in downtown Denver, I eat at my favorite restaurant, Los Cabos, a small Peruvian joint with absolutely amazing food. I know because I’ve eaten almost the entire menu. They have excellent ceviches, really tender aji de panca spare ribs, Seco de carne, Peruvian chicken and rice, whol roasted fish, and so much more. I was just recently there a week ago. One of my favorite menu items is called Aji de Gallina; spicy creamed chicken. The chicken is shredded and cooked in a spicy creamy sauce. The sauce is thickened with milk soaked bread, walnuts, and cheese puréed with sautéed onions, garlic, and aji amarillo peppers. The yellowish color comes from these peppers, which tastes like a spicy yellow bell pepper. It is hard to find this pepper in this country. You might be able to find it at a Latin grocery store. What you can find is the pepper in paste form. The chicken is traditionally served with boiled yellow potatoes, steamed rice, and is garnished with hard boiled eggs and black olives. Olives happen to be one of the only food items I despise. Please add them in if you are a fan. But you’ll never see them on any recipe on my site.
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 4 slices white bread
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 3 tbsp walnuts
- 3 tbsp queso fresco cheese
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled
- 1/2 cup aji amirillo paste
- 4 cooked red or yellow potatoes sliced
- 3 hard boiled eggs sliced
Instructions
- Place the bread and evaporated milk in a bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- While the bread is sitting in the milk, poach the chicken breasts in the chicken stock for 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken breasts and let cool completely. Save the stock.
- Heat up vegetable oil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add in the onions and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add in the aji amarillo paste. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- While the onions and garlic are cooking, add the soaked bread slices, walnuts, and cheese to a food processor or blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add the sautéed onions and garlic to the food processor.
- Blend until smooth.
- In the same sauce pan, add in the shredded chicken, the spicy cream sauce, and 2 cups of the chicken stock. Simmer covered on medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the potatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes uncovered.
- Turn off the heat. Garnish with sliced hard boiled eggs.
