A modern way to cook a dish that usually requires a lot of minding lest the sauce dries up before the pork is done. This Chinese-style braised pork leg is cooked in the slow cooker.
Preheat the oven to 475F. If your oven temperature can go higher than that, set it at the highest temperature (see notes after the recipe).
Rinse the pork leg, wipe dry with a kitchen towel then position on a rack (with a tray underneath to catch drippings) and roast until the skin blisters, around 45 to 55 minutes.
Transfer the pork leg to the slow cooker.
Throw in the garlic, ginger, shallots, peppercorns, bay leaves and star anise.
Pour in the broth.
Season with soy sauce and sugar (the amount of each depends on how the broth had been seasoned; just find the balance that pleases your taste buds).
Set the slow cooker to HIGH.
After an hour, reduce the heat to LOW. Cook the pork hock for another five hours, or a total of six hours in the slow cooker.
About 30 minutes before the cooking time is up, dissolve the starch in one-fourth cup of water and pour into the slow cooker in a thin stream.
Cook the baby corn and bok choy in salted water, then drain.
To serve, scoop out the pork hock and transfer to a serving bowl. Strain the thickened sauce and pour over the meat. Arrange the baby corn and bok choy on the side.
Serve the Chinese-style braised pork leg with rice or with Chinese buns.
Notes
Updated from a recipe originally published in June 9, 2014