Fennel Spiced Braised Pork with Cabbage and Potatoes

Fennel Spiced Braised Pork with Cabbage and Potatoes

When cold weather comes around I really long for some simple hearty one pot meals like braised pork with cabbage and potatoes. It’s got its northern European roots, Poland comes to mind, but surprisingly it’s a combination you will find, with regional adaptations, in northern Asian countries as well.

With a recent cold snap, well relatively speaking that is here in northern Thailand, my mind was made up. I was having a braising pot of pork, cabbage and potatoes on the stove steaming up the windows by sundown.

The recipe that follows is decidedly Asian in flavor but otherwise much like a traditional western version in that it embodies the idea of hearty cold weather fare.

Fennel Spiced Braised Pork with Cabbage, and Potatoes     serves 4

Prepare ahead

Brined pork

• 2.2 pounds/ 1 kilo pork tenderloin
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 ½ tablespoons sugar 
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 bay leaves
• water to cover

Place the salt, sugar, thyme, and bay leaves in a large non-reactive bowl. Fill the bowl about half full with warm water and stir until the salt and sugar has completely dissolved. Let the water cool to room temperature and then submerge the pork into the brine, adding more water if needed to completely cover the pork. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

Fennel seasoning mix 

• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns (or black peppercorns)
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Combine the fennel seeds, peppercorns, and sea salt in a small mortar. Coarsely grind with a pestle and set aside to use later.

Braised pork, cabbage, and potatoes

Needed: a large braising pan or Dutch oven with lid

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 rashers bacon, thinly sliced
• brined pork loin, patted dry
• fennel seasoning mix
• 2 cups finely diced onions
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 4 large heads Chinese cabbage, trimmed, halved, and thinly sliced crosswise
• ½ cup Chinese Shao Hshing cooking wine (or white wine)
• 1 additional teaspoons fennel seasoning mix
• 2.2 pounds /1 kilo small gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into bite size wedges
• hot chicken stock or water
• sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 f/ 180 c

Place a large braising pan or Dutch oven on the stove top over medium heat. When hot add the olive oil. When the oil is hot add the bacon. Stir and turn the bacon frequently so the fat is rendered and the bacon is evenly lightly browned. Promptly remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on a plate to use later. Lower the heat briefly while you season the pork.

Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brine.

Generously rub the pork tenderloin with fennel seasoning mix, firmly pressing the seasoning mix into the surface of the pork on all sides, so it sticks to the flesh.

Turn the heat up to medium high. When the fat is hot add the seasoned pork and brown on all sides. When evenly browned remove the pork to a platter and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium low and add the onions and garlic to the pan. Stir frequently until the onions soften and become translucent, about 5 minutes.

Then begin adding the sliced cabbage by the hand full, stirring until it wilts before adding the next hand full. Continue adding the remaining cabbage until it is all in the pan and wilted. Stir in the Shao Hshing wine (or white wine) and the reserved cooked bacon. Fold the bacon into the cabbage until evenly distributed. Season the mixture with 1 additional teaspoons of the fennel seasoning and stir to combine.

Place the pork tenderloin loosely coiled over the cabbage in the center of the pan and tuck the potato wedges pushed in and around the edges and in between the pork loin. Add enough hot stock or water to reach the top of the contents in the pan and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and transfer it to the oven and cook for 45 minutes.

Check the pan after 45 minutes and add more hot stock to again to reach the top of the contents in the pan. Cover and return the pan to the oven for another 45 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and remove the lid. The pork should be very tender and easily pulled apart with a fork. Taste the broth and season with more salt and pepper if needed and stir to combine. 

Set the pot aside, covered, for 10 minutes.

Serving:

Spoon the cabbage and potatoes onto individual plates. Using two forks pull chunks of the pork apart and place them in the center of the potatoes and cabbage. Generously spoon both over all and serve.