Thai-Style Braised Pork Cheeks

Exceedingly tender and perfectly sweet.

By
Chichi Wang
Chichi Wang: Contributing Writer at Serious Eats

Chichi Wang wrote a variety of columns for Serious Eats including The Butcher's Cuts, in addition to other stories. Born in Shanghai and raised in New Mexico, Chichi took her degree in philosophy but decided that writing about food would be more fun than writing about Plato.

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Updated September 21, 2020
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Chichi Wang

Recipe Details

Thai-Style Braised Pork Cheeks Recipe

Active 20 mins
Total 3 hrs 20 mins
Serves 6 servings
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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds pork cheeks

  • 2/3 cup dark soy sauce

  • 1/4 cup fish sauce

  • 1/3 cup rice wine

  • 1 ounce palm sugar

  • 1 stick cinnamon

  • 3 to 6 bird's eye chiles

To Garnish:

  • Freshly cut herbs, such as thai basil, cilantro, or scallions

  • Fried shallots

  • Toasted shredded coconut

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Place cheeks in pot or braising pan. The cheeks should cover the surface of the vessel. Add enough water so that cheeks are halfway submerged. Add add soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine, sugar, cinnamon, and chiles to pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil. Transfer to oven and cook until very tender, about 2 hours.

  2. De-fat the mixture, either by skimming off the liquid fat or refrigerating the meat and letting the fat solidify on the top. Remove meat from liquid and gently break into bite-sized chunks (meat will be very tender). Heat sauce in a medium saucepan and cook until reduced to about 1/3 cup. Sauce should be rich and syrupy. Return meat to sauce and heat through. Serve immediately, garnished with herbs and fried shallots. Serve with rice.

Special Equipment

3 quart saute pan or braising pot, or other non-reactive container such a Pyrex baking dish

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
320Calories
16gFat
7gCarbs
31gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories320
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g21%
Saturated Fat 6g29%
Cholesterol 100mg33%
Sodium 1005mg44%
Total Carbohydrate 7g3%
Dietary Fiber 1g2%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 31g
Vitamin C 1mg5%
Calcium 38mg3%
Iron 2mg9%
Potassium 473mg10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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