Salty and sweet balance each other out in this sticky Chinese pork dish.
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup grated palm sugar
1 long red chilli, sliced into rounds
290g can water chestnuts, drained and quartered
1kg pork neck
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
steamed rice and Asian greens, to serve
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the oyster sauce, palm sugar, chilli, water chestnuts and 500ml water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil over a high heat then reduce to medium-low to simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
Place the pork neck into a deep casserole dish just large enough to hold the piece of pork, and pour the oyster sauce mixture over the meat. Cover with foil and cook for 2-3 hours, turning every half hour (you may need to add extra water if the liquid reduces too much). Remove foil and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, or until the meat is tender and the sauce has reduced. Check seasoning.
Slice the pork and serve with steamed rice and Asian greens.
Hot tips
Serve coconut rice or plain steamed rice with the braised pork. To make coconut rice, replace 1/4 of the water needed for cooking plain rice with coconut milk.
Stir-fried Asian greens or steamed greens with oyster sauce would round out the meal.
Bamboo shoots or lotus root also work well as a garnish.
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