Pork tail is trimmed from the pork legs and includes the coccygeal vertebrae.
400g soft bone
1 tbsp Chinese rose wine
1 tbsp five spice powder
80g sugar
1.8 litres of water
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp white peppercorns
¾ tsp coriander seeds
2 bay leaves
½ tsp cloves
1½ star anise
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamom pods
1 black cardamom
1 slice of gan cao (licorice root)
24g yuzhu (Solomon’s seal)
12g dangshen
2 red dates
5g mandarin orange peel
46g spring onion
40g ginger, smashed
70g blue ginger, smashed
25g fresh coriander
167g garlic, unpeeled
2 dried chillies
4 tbsp dark soya sauce
3 tbsp light soya sauce
3 tsp salt
3 pieces of rock sugar
procedure
Rinse the pork and soft bone and place in a deep dish. Add the Chinese rose wine and five spice powder. Mix well and cover the dish with cling wrap. Allow to marinate overnight or at least three hours. Remove the pork from the fridge and allow it to sit on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes before you are ready to cook.
In a sturdy pot, heat the 80g of sugar over low heat.
Once the sugar caramelises, add the pork and bone. Fry until the meat turns opaque and you do not see any visible blood.
Add the water.
Add the black and white peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaves, cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, black cardamom, gan cao, yuzhu, dangshen, red dates and mandarin orange peel.
Add the spring onion, ginger, blue ginger, fresh coriander, garlic and dried chillies.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Add the dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, salt and rock sugar.
Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it to cook in the residual heat for another 30 minutes.
To serve, transfer into a claypot, bring to a simmering boil and serve immediately.