Cheaters' Pork Cha Su

Dinner at Ramen Kahoo last month reminded me how much I like Japanese style braised pork. Or, for that matter, any kind of braised pork. We're still sticking with our long term goal of eating more and more vegetables and less and less meat over time, but everyone deserves a treat sometimes. We had a small amount of cha su (which is what the Japanese call their braised pork--not to be confused with char siu, which is Cantonese style bbq) with plenty of carrots, potatoes, and a big side of garlic stir fried green vegetables.

For our small meal I used:

• 2 pork steaks from the Mexican market (they call it bistek de puerco, naturally enough). Traditionally the Japanese use pork belly, pork shoulder, or pork cheeks
• 2 carrot
• 2 potatoes
• 4 big slices ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine
• 1 heaping tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups water
• salt and white pepper to taste

Sear pork on all sides, then put in ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and rice wine. Add enough water to barely cover the pork, then bring the mixture to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer. Simmer for an hour to two hours, until the pork is cooked but not falling off the bone. Timing will depend on how thick your pieces are. At this point, taste the mixture and add sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Remember some more water will evaporate, so err on the side of not salty enough. Remove the ginger and garlic and add the potatoes and carrots. Continue until the pork is falling off the bone, then use two forks to shred the pork. Taste again for seasoning, and boil off the liquid until you have a nice stew to serve over rice!