A Dose of Frosting..: Chinese Style Pulled Pork Turnover

Chinese Style Pulled Pork Turnover

I went to bed last night thinking of the happenings in Atlanta this week -- Meat Week and Chinese New Year. No surprise that I woke up craving for pulled pork and Chinese food. Thus I decided to act on my East meets West craving-- bringing in the best of both worlds - PORK.

A friend, Josh Sinko, once said to me that the Pig is the happiest animal. And why not? It rolls in mud all day and they have abundant food in the trough. People who eat pork are happy people -- you are what you eat, so they say. BACON for President!!

My love for meat, especially pork, sprang from a rebellion to my Catholicism -- during Lent and on Fridays, we were expected (Catholic guilt plays a major role here) to abstain from meat, which in turn, made me crave it more. Hah!

I brought this turnover and Sauteed Bean Thread Noodles for my friend Mary's Chinese New Year party and both were a hit.

Chinese Style Pulled Pork Turnover
(my original recipe)

4 lbs fresh Boston pork butt
canola oil, for browning

For the cooking liquid:
2 cups pineapple juice
3 cups water
8 oz. can pineapple slices in juice, cut into chunks
2 T cider vinegar
3 T dark soy sauce
10 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 pcs bay leaves
1 t whole szechuan peppercorn*
1 small cinnamon stick
5 pcs star anise*
1/2 t whole cloves*
1/2 t fennel seeds*
2 t sea salt

For the pastry:

3 pcs puff pastry, store bought, thawed per instruction

5 pcs Chinese chorizo/sausage

2 eggs, beaten, for egg wash

*preferably, put all of these in a spice ball or spice bag (cheesecloth tied with kitchen twine). It will be easier to discard them afterwards.

Brown the meat to seal in the juices.

Preheat the oven at 325 degrees. In a pot with a cover, mix all the ingredients for the cooking liquid.

Add the browned pork butt and bring to a boil. Transfer to the preheated oven and cook until pork is fall-off-the-bone tender, about 3 hours, turning the pork halfway through cooking (in this case since the cooking liquid does not cover the meat completely).

When done, remove from oven and transfer meat to a plate. Let it cool. Take the cooking liquid and discard all the spices used for cooking the pork, then skim and discard the fat that float on the top. On the stove top, reduce the liquid until thicken. Set aside and let it cool.

When pork is cool enough to handle, shred using two forks. Return shredded pork to the reduced cooking liquid. Toss and coat the pork with all that gooey-yummy-so-help-me-God-I-wont-dunk-my-head-into-it goodness.