Recipe: Braised pork knuckle with sea cucumber

Sea cucumber 海参 is another popular ingredient during Chinese New Year as it is a homonym for happiness ("hoi sum"). Sea cucumber itself has no taste, so it needs to be braised with a flavorful sauce so that it absorbs all the flavours from the braising. It can be paired with pork belly or pork knuckle.

As usual, we get our sea cucumber from Eu Yan Sang, which has been pre-soaked and ready for cooking. The country of origin for the sea cucumber is Mauritius, priced at RM120 per 700g. I cut it into thick chunks for more bite and cooked it for 30 minutes, so that it retains its chewy texture.

Braised pork knuckle with sea cucumber

When I was younger, I did not like eating pork knuckle since I found it too fatty for my liking (young age = always wanting to look slim). Nowadays, I would eat anything as long as it is delicious and have learnt to appreciate pork knuckle... maybe that also explains my expanding waistline ;P

Pork knuckle, also known as ham hock consists of mostly skin, tendons and ligaments, with just a  little meat. It is braised for a long time (usually 2 hours) until the skin is springy to the bite. Do not overcook it or else the skin will become soft and mushy. I like the gelatinous tendons too. When buying pork knuckle (we usually go for the 猪手) at the market, ask your butcher to chop it into large chunks for you.

The sea cucumber is added in towards the end, for it to soak up all the lovely braising sauce. This is a popular Hokkien dish, which my Grandma always prepares during CNY reunion dinner.

If you have any leftovers, you can serve it with longevity noodles 寿面(which also represent longevity and long life) for lunch the following day. The braising sauce goes extremely well with noodles, and you can even top it with a poached egg.

Braised pork knuckle with sea cucumber
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2 1/4 hours
Serves 6

Ingredients
1.8 kg pork knuckle, large chunks
1 garlic bulb, minced
1 inch ginger, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tbsp of cooking oil

6-8 large dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked for 1 hour

500g sea cucumber, cut into 1 x 2 inch strips

Water, enough to cover the pork knuckle

For marination

4 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp ginger wine

1 tbsp sesame oil

Seasoning
Light soy sauce, to taste
2 tbsp dark soy sauce (for colour)

To garnish
Red chilli, cut into thin strips
Spring onion, chopped finely


1. Place the pork knuckle into a container and marinate with the soy sauce, ginger wine and sesame oil for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. This is to infuse the flavours into the pork knuckle.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the garlic and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned.

3. Add the pork knuckle and mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes until the meat is browned slightly. Then, add enough water to cover the pork knuckle, dark soy sauce and about 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Braise for 1 1/2 hours on low heat .

4. Add in the sea cucumber and cook for a further 30 minutes. Season with more light soy sauce if required (to taste).

5. Remove from heat. Skim off excess oil. Garnish and serve immediately with boiled rice.You can also serve with this 寿面 (longevity noodles), the gravy goes very well with the noodles.

*Recipe for braised pork belly with sea cucumber can be found here.

* I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.