Instant Pot Sticky Soy-Braised Pork with Ginger and Star Anise

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Chunks of pork shoulder go from raw to fall-apart tender in one pressure cycle, then get tossed in their own braising liquid reduced to a glossy soy-ginger glaze. It tastes like a Sunday red-cooked braise but the pot does the work in about an hour, with ten ingredients and nothing to make separately.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into thin coins
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 5 scallions, whites cut into 2-inch lengths, greens thinly sliced
• 2 whole star anise
• 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Pat the pork cubes very dry with paper towels. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté on High, add the oil, and when it shimmers brown the pork in two batches, 4 to 5 minutes per batch, turning once, until deeply browned on at least two sides. Leave all the pork and rendered fat in the pot.
2. Add the ginger coins, smashed garlic, scallion whites and star anise and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in the Shaoxing wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute, until no browned bits stick and the wine has mostly cooked off.
3. Add the soy sauce, brown sugar and water and stir once to dissolve the sugar. Cancel Sauté, lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and Pressure Cook (Manual) on High for 35 minutes.
4. When the cycle ends, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting to release the rest. Open the lid: the pork should be tender enough to crush against the side of the pot with a spoon.
5. Lift the pork out with a slotted spoon into a bowl. Fish out and discard the star anise and ginger coins. Set the pot to Sauté on High and boil the liquid, stirring often, for 8 to 12 minutes, until reduced to about 1 cup of syrupy glaze that coats a spoon.
6. Cancel Sauté, return the pork to the pot and turn gently for 1 minute so every piece is lacquered. Scatter the scallion greens over the top and serve hot.
7. Serve over steamed rice, spooning the extra glaze over.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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