My Pata

Another year is passing and I'll be celebrating my 30th birthday this 13th of July (I never got out of 30 lol). My wife and I has made plans for that day. Since its a Monday, we'll be having a family date on the Saturday which is the 11th probably to watch a movie or anything that will make my kids happy. Then by Monday we'll just stay at home and prepare some good dinner. My wife is really craving for pasta and miracles of miracles, she volunteered to cook a pasta dish for me. I told her not to go for pesto base pasta since it'll be a little bit hard for her to prepare (she's 5 months preggy by the way). So I suggested a tomato base pasta using fresh tomato instead of canned or sauces. Its her call if she'll be using sea food or meat on it. As for me I'll be preparing a Chinese dish which we Filipino has learn to embrace and devour literally. Its called Pata Tim.

I usually use the front legs of the pig for this or for any other pata dish because its leaner and has smaller bone structures unlike the back part that has the elbow part which is a large bone thus lesser meat. In buying a pata or pork knuckles or feet, Make sure that it has lesser hairs and is well cleaned. Also look for skin ruptures in between its toes and if it has a bad smell even how little DON'T BUY it. Those are common signs of a Foot and Mouth Disease which are deadly to swine and may harm human if eaten. So go get your pork feet at the grocery stores or look for NMIC certificate if you'll be buying from a local wet market.

So how will I cook this and what are my ingredients? My mother, who by the way has been my mentor and inspiration in every meal I prepare (aside from my wife and kids of course :D) has taught me her way of cooking it. On every occasion she never misses out this dish and has gained popularity from our relatives and our loyal customers at my Mom's Carinderia (local diner). In fact she always get request and orders for this dish.

Listed below are my ingredients:

Pork Pata (front leg) - 1 whole piece with hooves removed and cleaned

Crushed or Chunk Pineapple in can - 1 medium size can.

Star Aniseed - 1 clove

Soy sauce - half cup (just add it little by little depending on your taste)

Whole pepper

Sugar - add according to taste

Carrots - 1 medium cut and sliced using shaped cutter

Leeks - at least 2 stalks

Procedure:

First is to boil the Pata in a casserole full of water. If your pata is 1 kilo just add 1 tbsp. of salt unto the water before boiling it. Let it boil until the meat become a bit tender. Do not over cook it then remove and let it drain for a while. Prepare a wok deep enough for your pata to be fried. Once again do not over fry it. Just enough until the skin gets a Little brown. Remove it from the wok and set aside. In a bowl mix together the soy sauce, sugar, the juice from the canned pineapple chunks. Taste it first before pouring it to the pork. It must have that salty and sweet taste with a hint of pineapple juice. Then, using the casserole before, place the pork in it and pour in the soy sauce mixture along with some pepper corns and the star aniseed. Make sure that it is at least 3/4 below the liquid mixture. If your sauce seems to fall short of that measurement, use part of the water we used to boil the pork before. Let it simmer until the sauce thickens.This will make the meat more tender to a point that it can easily fell off from the bone and the aroma and taste more flavorful.

Serve it on a platter and top with carrots sliced and shaped thinly for decoration purposes and some fresh leeks. Enjoy!!!