Prawn
Braised ham hock with chilli relish and asparagus salad
Matt's spiced (and spicy!) ham hock is the perfect partner for a tangy asparagus salad.
Ingredients:
- 1 small ham hock
- 4 small, round shallots, peeled and left whole
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 star anise
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2cm/¾in piece ginger, peeled and sliced
- 3 cardamom pods
- 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock
- 4 mild red chillies or 2 long red peppers
- 2 thai red chillies
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1 tbsp thai fish sauce
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 4 spears fresh asparagus, thinly sliced width-ways
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced into rings
- 1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
Directions:
- Place all the ham hock ingredients into a large pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Skim the liquid frequently to remove any froth. Cook for 2–3 hours until soft. Allow to cool in the stock before breaking into chunks.
- To make the chilli relish, blitz the chillies, peppers and garlic briefly to a coarse paste in a blender or food processor. Add the oil to a pan and fry the chilli mixture over a medium heat with the shrimp paste. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- To make the asparagus salad, mix together the lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar and caster sugar in a large bowl then toss with the asparagus, shallot and coriander.
- To serve, spoon some chilli relish onto the base of a serving dish. Add the ham hock, whole shallots and pour in some of the strained cooking stock. Top with the asparagus salad.