Peach pata hamonado

Peach pata hamonado? Sure, I used the syrup from the canned peaches. While most hamonado recipes call for pineapple juice, the radical chef decided to do it differently…of course.

In Filipino cuisine, pata refers to the leg and the trotters of the pork. The trotters are not removed because the ligaments make the sauce sticky. Make sure though that the pata has been thoroughly cleaned before cooking it. In meat shops, this is normally done for you. If you buy your pata from the wet market, you may have to do the cleaning yourself when you get home. Have the butcher cut the pata into 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick slices. It is best to have this done through a machine to avoid bone splinters.

Hamonado usually means any meat dish that is cooked much like a ham is cured. While it is best to marinate the meat at least overnight, slow-cooking the meat with very little liquid yields a rich and tasty hamonado as well.

Ingredients :

1 pork pata, cut into 1/2″ to 3/4″ slices (this recipe used a 950 g. pata)
3/4 c. of dark soy sauce
1 c. of canned peach syrup
1/2 c. of canned fruit cocktail syrup
10 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 star anise or 1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp. of toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. of sesame seed oil

Cooking procedure :

Clean and blanch the pata. Place in a glass bowl. Mix together the soy sauce and fruit syrups. Add the star anise or cinnamon stick, peppercorns and bay leaf. Pour over the pata slices and marinate, covered, for at least an hour. Transfer to a heavy casserole and cook over low heat for two to two and a half hours or until very tender. Add more liquid during cooking time, if necessary. To avoid thinning the sauce, add only about half a cup of water at a time. Alternatively, pressure-cook for one hour and 15 minutes counting from the time the valve starts to whistle.

Using a large slotted spoon, carefully lift out the sliced pata and transfer them to a platter. Spoon some sauce over the meat. Drizzle with sesame seed oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.