Braised Pork Hock is a gorgeous dish prepared with many variations across China. Consisting of a juicy pork hock braised to perfection in a spiced soy-based sauce, this is a ‘labor of love’ kind of dish typically reserved for special occasions.

But just because it’s special doesn’t mean you have to wait until Chinese New Year to enjoy it.

Papa G’s recipe for braised pork hock is surprisingly easy to throw together, and while it takes some waiting time, he has a few shortcuts that can help cut your cooking time down dramatically.

So, are you eager to try making braised pork hock for yourself? Keep scrolling for our foolproof Braised Pork Hock recipe. I guarantee it’ll hock your world.

Ingredients for Our Braised Pork Hock Recipe

For the pork:

• 1 pork hock (about 1.4kg)
• 5L water
• 20g ginger, sliced
• 20g green onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp cooking wine
• OPTIONAL, BUT RECOMMENDED: 1 portion of Sauteed Garlic Bok Choy for plating

For the braising liquid:

• 80g rock sugar, dissolved in 100mL water
• 4L water
• 1.2L soy sauce
• 2 tsp (10g) star anise
• 1 tsp (5g) cloves
• 2 tsp (10g) cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup Shaoxing cooking wine
• 1oz (30g) sliced ginger
• 1oz (30g) green onion stalks
• 0.5oz (15g) cilantro

For the cornstarch slurry:

• 2 tsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water

IMPORTANT NOTE: Those quantities above for the braising liquid might shock you. In fact, they shocked me, and I had to triple check with Papa G that he hadn’t made a mistake. Nope – that’s indeed a lot of liquid, which he says is intentional because you really want the pork hock to be completely submerged for this dish to shine… plus you can strain/save the braising liquid/freeze it to use for soy sauce chicken wings or soy sauce eggs. So, don’t shoot the messenger – those quantities are not a typo.

Step by Step Instructions for Our Braised Pork Hock Recipe

This tasty dish is easy to whip together for a satisfying dinner. Here are the step by step instructions!

To prep your braising liquid, dissolve your rock sugar in water and heat until golden brown. Then, add the rest of the braising sauce ingredients and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat then set your liquid aside.

To prep your pork hock, give it a wash and then place it in a pot with 5L of water, along with your ginger, green onion, and cooking wine. Boil for 10 minutes to remove impurities, then discard your liquid and run the pork hock under cold water.

Next, place your pork hock inside the pot with your braising liquid, and turn it up to a low heat to slowly braise for about an hour until tender, and practically falling off the bone.

TIME SAVING HACK: Papa G says you can save tons of time with this recipe by using an Instant Pot. With it, you can chuck it in for just two minutes and get some excellent results.

While braising the pork, you can whip up some sauteed garlic bok choy as a beautiful garnish. You can see the full instructions for that in our Garlic Bok Choy Recipe.

When the pork hock is ready, plate it by arranging some bok choy on a plate, then placing the pork hock down on top as a centerpiece.

Lastly, to prepare the luscious gravy that goes over top, strain your braising liquid and pour two cups into a saucepan on medium heat.

In a separate bowl, mix together your 2 tsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water to create a cornstarch slurry.

Add the cornstarch slurry to the pan, then bring to a boil, stirring as you go to prevent lumps.

When your sauce has reached your desired thickness, turn off the heat and drizzle over top your pork hock and bok choy.

Then serve and enjoy!

We Hope You Enjoy Our Braised Pork Hock Recipe!

Let us know in the comments if you have any questions, or be sure to let us know if you’ve tested the recipe out. We’re always looking to improve our recipes and make sure they taste great for everyone.