Chinese Pork and Black Bean Stew

Chinese Black Bean and Garlic Sauce is one of those condiments that miraculously turns an ordinary pork shoulder into a stew that you’ll hardly believe you made yourself. It’s a great Sunday meal as you need three to four hours of cooking time for the pork to get super tender, or any night of the week if you have a crock or instant pot.

Cut a boneless pork shoulder into one inch cubes and season liberally with salt. Over high heat, brown the cubes in a heavy soup pot with a little bit of vegetable oil, about five minutes. Turn down the heat to medium and add a couple dozen sliced white or cremini mushrooms along with four to five large cloves of chopped garlic. Stir occasionally until the mushrooms soften up.

Add water to cover the pork by at least an inch, bring to a slow boil, then add the appropriate amount of concentrated beef stock and a few heaping tablespoons of the Black Bean and Garlic sauce. Cover and leave over low heat, or put in a preheated 250 degree oven. After an hour, taste, and add more beef stock and bean sauce as needed. After two hours, ladle out two cups of the broth into a bowl and set aside.

Once the pork is tender add four tablespoons of cornstarch to the warmish bowl of broth and stir with a fork until smooth, then add to the pot of pork. Bring to a light boil for a minute, stirring as the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat and serve with a side of rice.