My last trip in Thailand I fell in love with a dish commonly found at food stands and in food courts. It’s made of a pork shank, slowly braised and served simply with rice, some of the cooking liquid for gravy, and a serving of preserved mustard greens on the side.
I tried making it myself today and it came out pretty well. First I put an inch and a half of oil in the wok and heated it, then gave 3 lbs. of shank a quick fry. I would have preferred it whole on the bone, but split was what they had at the market, so I just went with it.

Next, I pounded some szechuan peppercorns and some black peppercorns with garlic until it made a paste. Then added both light and dark soy sauce.

In the meantime, the pork shank dried off on some paper towel.

After adding Chinese 5 spice powder, palm sugar, sea salt, some golden mountain sauce, star anise, and  a couple of hard boiled eggs, it was time to cook. I put it in a pot and brought it to a boil, then put it on low for several hours.

Dinner last night? Fabulous!