I have been craving for paksiw na pata for three days now. I was planning on cooking it for lunch yesterday but was too tired to do so. I promised myself though that rain or shine, I will be having it for lunch (and dinner!) today.
Paksiw is a Filipino cooking method. With fish and seafood, paksiw means cooking with a sour base. The souring agent is usually vinegar or kamias. When cooking meat, paksiw means braising the meat in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. With paksiw na pata (pork leg with knuckles), a few sprigs of dried oregano and handful of bulaklak ng saging is added for flavor. Despite the name, bulaklak ng saging, or banana blossoms, do not come from the banana plant. They are dried lily buds. What is known in the west as banana blossoms is called puso ng saging (banana heart) locally.
Ingredients :
1 pork pata, chopped into 1″ slices
3/4 c. of strong native vinegar
3/4 c. of dark soy sauce
3/4 c. or more of tightly-packed brown sugar
1 whole garlic, pierced with a sharp pointed knife in several sections
2 whole onions, peeled
1 bay leaf
5-6 peppercorns
a handful of bulaklak ng saging
Cooking procedure :
Wash the pork pata well and place in a casserole. Pour in just enough water to cover the meat. Add the rest of the ingredients. Slow cook for 11/2 to 2 hours or until very tender. The meat should literally fall off from the bones. Check the liquid once in a while; add about 1/2 to 3/4 c. of water if the mixture gets too dry during cooking.
Serve hot.
