Ingredients
Serves 6
Ingredients
1.5 / 3lb of pork shoulder (echine de porc) cut into 1 inch cubes
Sea salt
1 tbsp of dried oregano or thyme
1 tsp coriandor seeds or powder
4 large cloves of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil or other oil
2 medium onions
1 cup of canned tomato puree or chunks (cut up)
1 medium kabocha squash
Fresh cilantro
Pumpkin seeds (optional)
Squeeze of fresh lemon (optional)
Preparation
1- If you pork shoulder is not cut up start by cutting it up into 1 inch / 2.5cm cubes. Lay the pieces in a bowl, salt both sides with your sea salt and cover with your herbs. Crush your garlic and lay it in between your meat to infuse it. Cover and refrigerate for 30 mins or so if you have time (if you don’t it’s ok.) Take your meat out 15-20mins before browning to bring it to room temperature.
*if you don’t let your meat marinate, there is no need to add the garlic at this point.
2- Cut up your onions to the size of your liking, I like mine in general a medium chop. Crush up your garlic if you have not or cut it into smaller pieces if you prefer. Cut up your squash into cubes to the size of your liking (see photos below for assitance on how to cut squahs.) I keep the skin on but feel free to take it off.
3- Warm up your soup pot and add in the oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Add in your meat being mindful not to burn yourself. Lightly brown sides of each meat cube, more side if you want. Set aside once it’s browned, you may have to brown in two batches.
4- Deglaze your pot by add some water, about 1/4 cup. Use a wooden spatula or spoon to scrape your scraps from browning the meat. This will give lots of good flavor. Add in your onions and sautee just a few minutes. Add in your garlic and sautee a few minutes more.
5- Add back in your browned pork as well as your tomato puree (or chunks.) Fill with enough water just to cover the meat and bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling some foamy residue will emerge from the meat on top of your stew. Scrap it off with a spoon and disgard.
6- Go ahead and put the lid on and cook for about an hour until your meat is tender. You will want it to come apart pretty easily. Once the meat is cooked, I like to take out the meat and pull it apart to create a sort of pulled pork style stew but you can leave it in the original chunks too. I leave it when I don’t have time to pre-pull it.
7- Add in your squash and allow to cook for about 20 minutes or until it’s cooked through. It’s really nice to add the squash in last because it won’t desintegrate as it would if added in the beginning with the meat!
8- Taste and adjust for salt. When I serve each bowl I like to add a squeeze of lemon on top because it just brightens it up so well. And some pumpkin seeds and if I have it, cilantro chopped up. All of this is optional. Enjoy.
*adjusted from the original recipe from cookbook author Heng Ou. One of the most beautiful cookbook series for a mother.
Step 1
Gather your ingredients. Pork shoulder, herbs, coriander seeds, garlic, onions, tomatoe puree, kabocha squash, cilantro.
Peel and crush your garlic to release more flavor.
Lay half your porc cubes in a bowl or tupperware with a lid.
Salt each piece front to back and then cover them with herbs. Lay the garlic on top.
Lay the remaining meat on top and repeat the process of salting each piece and covering them in herbs. Set in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
Prepare your onions to the size of your liking. Sometimes I do a medium dice.
Sometimes I do a smaller dice, in general, to accommodate my picky eating daughter. Ideally I would cut them into slices.
To cut up your kabocha start with the point of a large sharp knife into the top of the squash.
Mindfully pull it down towards you. It's helpful to stand on a stool and use your body weight to bring it down.
Do the same thing on the other side to get her open.
With a spoon you'll want to scrape out the inside.
If you are able to, compost it. If you are courageous, clean the seeds up and toast them in the oven (I personally don't do this.)
Cut your squash up to the size of your liking. Take the skin off if you prefer.
Heat up your soup pot to a medium high heat, add in your oil and then your meat to brown. Be mindful not to burn yourself.
I use a soup spoon and fork to turn the pieces for further browning. Tongs are another option.
Pull out your meat and set it aside. Brown the second batch if there is some leftover.
The bits that remain at the bottom of the pot are gold in terms of flavor. Try not to let them burn like I almost did!
Pour about 1/4 cup of water in the pot and use your wooden spoon to scrape it off.
Add in your onions and sautee for a few minutes and then add your garlic and about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Let it cook for a few minutes.
Add back in your browned pieces of meat & tomatoe puree.
Add water to just cover your ingredients and then bring to a boil.
The boil will bring out some stuff from the meat. Use a spoon to scrape it off and discard. Put the lid on and let it simmer for for about an hour.
Look at that beautiful color!
If I have the time, I like to pull out the pieces of pork and pull apart the meat like this. If I don't have time it's just as good and you can pull it apart in each individual bowl.
Add in your kabocha cubes and allow them to simmer for 20ish minutes or until they are nice and tender.
Your soup is ready to serve.
I do try to get my hands on some cilantro to top it with becuase it's delicious and pretty.
After serving the individual soup I toss the remaining cilantro into the stew.
This is how I served it to my 3.5 year old daughter. No greens. Cut up small and with some rice.
Adding cilantro and a dash of lemon brightens this up. Pumkin seeds are also a great addition. Enjoy!
Story
This is a stew that gets better as the days go by which means leftovers are a must (goody!) The key to the meat getting tender is a long slow cook. So after an hour if it still feels tough, give it another 30 minutes. This is best cooked early in the day for that night or the day before you are to eat it. If you let it sit in the fridge overnight it will still be melt in your mouth delicious the following day or so.
The original recipe is from one of my favorite books “Awakening Fertility.” I mostly follow the author, Heng Ou’s recipe but have adjusted to my palette. I add acidity with tomato puree and apple cider vinegar. I switch up the herbs depending on what I have and find that each herb works well. Dried thyme, rosemary powder is delicious or oregano like in the original recipe. I always use the crushed coriander seeds as it gives a unique flavor that I like. If you don’t appreciate coriander seeds, simply omit them and add a little more dried herbs.
I love this stew because it’s really simple, it goes a long way and feels so nourishing and hearty but light at the same time. I’ve added cabbage to it which was so good. I’ve added peas (canned) because I happened to have them at the time. It’s versatile and can handle your adjustment cravings. I always serve it with a batch of quinoa or brown rice.
*this recipe can be a bit greasy because of the cut of pork. It doesn’t bother me too much but if I have the energy I will skim off some of the fat especially after it’s hardened in the fridge.
