Paksiw na Pata (Pork Leg in Vinegar Broth)

Finally the last leg is out! It was my birthday weekend last week, I didn't plan anything (but the Expat Daddy surprised me with a family dinner and invited our relatives from both sides of the family) so I wouldn't be posting any recipes from that event --- ooops! no that isn't true, I have made an original recipe for the pork head we had, I made it into humbang pula and I'll be posting it later on. Seems we have not yet had enough of the pork so the next day, I took out the pork leg to thaw and made it into this delicious comfort food very popular among us Pinoys, Paksiw na Pata. This was just so good I'm craving for it again now, unfortunately, there's no more pork left in the ref :(. 

Paksiw is another sour broth dish using vinegar as its souring agent. In our family, we cook paksiw in white broth using only salt and vinegar. I understand in other places in the Philippines Paksiw na Pata is cooked with soy sauce and laurel (bay leaves), but for us this will always be a simple dish with salt and vinegar, making it distinct from adobo, humba, and pata tim, all having the vinegar-soy sauce combination. When available, we also add bulaklak ng saging (banana blossoms) to make it more fragrant. The secret however is how you would be able to perfectly blend the sour taste of vinegar into the broth. The important thing is to achieve that perfect balance between the sourness and the saltiness of the broth and not have the vinegar taste sticking out. For this I have tenderized the pork by boiling it for an hour with lots of onions to bring out the flavor in the broth before finally adjusting the taste with vinegar at the last stage of cooking, the vinegar makes the meat tough so, make sure it is added at the very last stage of cooking about 15 minutes before turning the heat off.


Ingredients:
1.5kg pork leg, chopped to serving sizes
water
1 tbs salt
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tbs pepper corns
3 onions, quartered
spring onions, optional
banana blossoms, optional


Method:
Put pork leg pieces in a casserole and add just enough water to cover the meat. Add the onions, salt and pepper corns and slow cook for about 1-1.5 hours. As it boils, remove scum as it rises.
When the meat is very tender (falling off from the bones), add vinegar and banana blossoms (if using). Cover and cook for another 15 minutes. Add more water if the sauce had become too thick.
Check and adjust taste with salt. Add spring onions (if using) and turn off heat.
Transfer into a serving bowl and serve with hot rice and a dipping sauce of fish sauce, lemon and chili pepper. Enjoy!


Mommy Tip: Don't let the dull color of the dish deceive you, it is just so good, comfort food at its best!




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