Chinese Braised Pork Knuckle in Black Bean Sauce

Chinese-influenced braised pork knuckle or shank based on a dish called “Ti Pang”, my version features black bean sauce & loads of aromatics.

This recipe takes a long old time, but you spend most of the 4+ hour cooking time chilling out and drinking in the wonderful aroma!

Chinese-Influenced Braised “Ham” Shank

I love cooking with pork knuckle, shank or hock, it’s a woefully underrated cut of pork that’s gloriously cheap and outrageously tasty.

My beer roasted pork knuckle remains a perennial favourite recipe on my site and the cured version of this cut features in my honey and mustard roasted ham hock and spring ham hock salad recipes.

Here it features in a recipe that is loosely based on a Chinese dish called “ti pang”. It’s pork knuckle braised in an outrageously tasty black bean broth.

Yes, it takes a while to cook, yes it is worth it!

Unusually for me this recipe serves four rather than two, don’t worry the leftovers can be used in everything from stir fries to Chinese-influenced soups.

If you want a super filthy good way to use up leftovers, make a sandwich with the pork, some of the skin and some crispy cucumber and lettuce. Then heat the leftover broth and serve it like a French dip sandwich, it’s almost worth it for this alone!

Frequently Asked Questions

Are pork knuckle and pork shank the same thing?

Yes, they are different names for the same thing, you may also see them as pork hock. Do not confuse them with ham hocks, they are cured.

Can I use ham hock?

I will caveat this answer with a note that I have not tried to make this recipe with ham hock.

But, given that ham hock is cured and is quite salty I would advise against making this dish with them. I don’t even think a 24-hour soak would get rid of enough salt to make this edible when made with cured ham hock.

Can I crisp up the skin of these pork knuckles?

You can and you will have mixed results. Gelatinous skin is not all that common in Western cuisine, but it is prized in other cultures.

You can slip this in a fiercely hot oven or an air fryer for 20-30 minutes to crisp up the skin.

What is Chinkiang vinegar?

Chinkiang vinegar is black rice vinegar and it is delicious, it has a much more complex and rounder flavour than regular rice vinegar.

I love it and use it in a lot of my Chinese-influenced recipes, but if you can not find any then you can use any rice or rice wine vinegar.

Can I make this in advance?

Yes, this will sit in the fridge in the braising liquid for 2-3 days. Gently reheat in the liquid until it is hot all the way through.

Serving Suggestions

I’ve served my Chinese braised pork shank with some simple slightly sticky jasmine rice and stir-fried pak choi in the images on this page.

Then I add loads of the braising juices as I eat the dish!

There are loads of other options that work really well with this recipe. On the veggie front, you could add something like my stir-fried broccoli or even asparagus stir fry.

You could stick with any plain rice with this dish, but it also works well with egg-fried rice.

Let’s not forget noodles! Everything from a plain chow mein to my cold soba noodle salad or even my yaki udon noodles would be wonderful.

I have two final suggestions before I let you get on and get this in your belly!

The fatty nature of pork knuckle makes this dish ideal to be served with pickles. Both my pickled daikon and pickled cucumber recipes are genius with this dish.

Equipment Used

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But, if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/Stovetop.
• 24cm or 10″ saucepan.
• Large wok.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• Small mixing bowl.
• Kitchen tongs, slotted spoons, stirring spoons and a ladle.
• A combination of weighing scales, measuring jug, cups and spoons.

Chinese Braised Pork Step-by-Step Photos

1. Put a large saucepan on the hob and add the pork knuckle then ginger, garlic, black pepper, Szechuan pepper, star anise, cinnamon and spring onions.
   
2. Cover with cold water, and bring to a simmer this will take about 20 minutes then simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
   
3. Remove the pork from the water and dry thoroughly, strain the liquid keeping the garlic and other aromatics, and dis-guard the liquid.
   
4. Heat a large wok over high heat and when hot add the oil, then carefully sear the pork on all sides and “splash” the oil onto any bit that did not touch the pan.
   
5. Remove the pork and drain away most of the oil. Return the wok to the heat add the garlic and aromatics from earlier and cook for 60 seconds.
   
6. Pour in the soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, black bean sauce, brown sugar, MSG bring to a simmer then add the water and bring to a boil.
   
7. Add this hot liquid mix to the original saucepan used to cook the pork initially, then return the pork to the pan and cover with additional boiling water if required, bring it to a low simmer and cook for 2½-3 hours.
   
8. Remove the pork from the pan turn up the heat to high and reduce the liquid by two-thirds this can take up to 20 minutes.
   
9. Strain the cooking liquid back into the wok and dis-guard the aromatics. Bring to a boil and add the cornflour mix stir through and cook until thickened.
   
10. Return the pork to the thickened liquid and spoon over some of the sauce.
    
11. Serve the pork with some Chinese greens.