I had about a pound and a half of pork shoulder that I wanted to cook, and my kids wanted me do do something interesting with it. I picked up a stack of fresh corn tortillas at the Mexican grocery store down the street and brought them home to serve with whatever I ended up making.
I browned the shoulder in a pan and covered it with Cherry Coke. Dropped in a couple of star anise, a knob of minced ginger and a tablespoon of Szechuan peppercorns. Poured in a slug of dark, low sodium soy sauce (I've found that many regular Korean soy sauces have lower sodium than even the reduced sodium Japanese brands--check the labels). I simmered the pork, adding more Cherry Coke as the level dropped.
After a couple hours, I removed the pork and let it cool. I cooked down the liquid for a while, added a little more sugar and soy, and thickened it with a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in two tablespoons of sake.
I pulled the pork and covered it with the heated sauce. Served it with cole slaw on the side, made with chopped cabbage, cilantro, toasted sesame seeds and some sushi vinegar. I had also made some quick pickles last night, with seedless cucumber, a pinch of red pepper flakes and sushi vinegar, so I put that out too. Also minced some takuan--yellow pickled daikon. Put some of the pork on a tortilla, added a handful of slaw, topped it with pickles and takuan. Then poured a couple of tablespoonfuls of the sauce over everything. Pretty darn good soft tacos.
I browned the shoulder in a pan and covered it with Cherry Coke. Dropped in a couple of star anise, a knob of minced ginger and a tablespoon of Szechuan peppercorns. Poured in a slug of dark, low sodium soy sauce (I've found that many regular Korean soy sauces have lower sodium than even the reduced sodium Japanese brands--check the labels). I simmered the pork, adding more Cherry Coke as the level dropped.
After a couple hours, I removed the pork and let it cool. I cooked down the liquid for a while, added a little more sugar and soy, and thickened it with a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in two tablespoons of sake.
I pulled the pork and covered it with the heated sauce. Served it with cole slaw on the side, made with chopped cabbage, cilantro, toasted sesame seeds and some sushi vinegar. I had also made some quick pickles last night, with seedless cucumber, a pinch of red pepper flakes and sushi vinegar, so I put that out too. Also minced some takuan--yellow pickled daikon. Put some of the pork on a tortilla, added a handful of slaw, topped it with pickles and takuan. Then poured a couple of tablespoonfuls of the sauce over everything. Pretty darn good soft tacos.
Last edited:
