Recipe: Humba (Hong Ma or Chinese Soy Sauce Braised Pork)

Humba.  Hong-Ma.  It's a deadly concoction -- my former brother in law, loves it and having diabetes with an uncontrollable appetite, he even drinks the sauce!  Now his blood sugars are sky rocketting that soon his legs may become Pata Tim which is somewhat related to the Humba, but that I reserve for another discussion.

The Deadly Concoction known as "Humba"!

Whatever the pronunciation, this dish brings back memories of the traditional Chinese home-cooked meals that the Philippines is known for.  More Chinese than Filipino, this refers to a braising of a fatty piece of pork, usually bellies or shoulder with soy sauce, sugar, rice wine and five spices.  In Filipino cuisine, with the somewhat alien attitude to the five spice, peppercorns, vinegar and bay leaves have taken its place.  Reading Nora Daza's original cookbook from 1965, Let's Cook with Nora, her version has the latter recipe.  But coming from Chinese-Filipino ancestry, I use the original five spice powder.  But back in Manila in the 1970's when five spices used to be available only in Chinese medicinal stores where one can also get ginseng and soup herbs like "siok te" along with dried seahorse (I often wondered what ailment could a dried seahorse cure -- Everson Go Tian, any idea?); I also resort to making Humba with the vinegar and bay leaves.  In both versions, the final product should yield a fork-tender pork dish that is so succulent that leaves one wanting for more.

I was curious in knowing what actually makes the five spices?  Like masalas (basically Indian for a “spice mixture”), the five spices are a group of, what else (?), five spices put together. I read somewhere that the five spices are cinnamon, star anise, cumin, pepper and turmeric.  But according to Wikipedia, aside from the star anise, cinnamon and probably pepper, the last two seem to change with another form of spice.  In fact, Wikipedia defined five spice as:

• "Star anise (bajiao, 八角)
• Cloves (dingxiang, 丁香)
• Chinese Cinnamon (rougui, 肉桂)
• Sichuan pepper (huajiao, 花椒)
• Fennel seeds (xiaohuixiang, 小茴香)

Other recipes may contain anise seed or ginger root, nutmeg, turmeric, Amomum villosum pods (砂仁), Amomum cardamomum pods (白豆蔻), licorice, black pepper, Mandarin orange peel or galangal. In South China Cinnamomum loureiroi and Mandarin orange peel is commonly used as a substitute for Cinnamomum cassia and cloves, respectively, producing a different flavour for southern five-spice powders."

Therefore, like the Indian "Curry Powder" which actually is a short cut of a cook making his or her own masala for a stew (in fact, Curry came from the word Kari which means, "sauce") and contains a range of spices depending on the manufacturer, five spice powder does not have a set ratio or even name of spices.

In Mandarin this is called, “Wu Xiang”, in Hokkien “Ngo Hiyong” and Cantonese “Ngo Hong”.  Incidentally, the second character, meaning “spice” or “fragrant” is the same Chinese character in the Cantonese “Hong Kong” or the Mandarin “Xiang Kang” or the Hokkien “Hiyong Kang”; meaning “Fragrant Harbor”.  Five spices are found not just in Chinese cuisine but also in Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean Cuisine.  Running out of five spice once, I decided to procure some by going to Wegmans and realized that the stock they have was made in Thailand.  But having a different Asian palate on the manufacturer brought about a different take on this Chinese kitchen essential for I noted that it had a more cumin side rather than star anise and cinnamon side. giving it a South American and Indian flavor.

The book of the American Culinary Institute teaches that the regional cuisines of China are very distinct and Hokkien/Fujian cuisine is no exception for it is only in this region where one can find this braising method of soy sauce, sugar, rice wine in five spices.  It is called "Red Cooked Pork" and therefore easily translates to the Hokkien "Hong-Ma" which became the Filipino "Hum-ba".  The funny thing is that looking at this webspage http://culinarywineandfoodmatching.blogspot.com/2010/03/pinot-noir-chinese-red-cooked-pork.html; they have paired this with pinot noir and serving them in itsy-bitsy pieces with a piece of star anise and a cinnamon stick as garnish to boot.  (Or probably they thought that they should chew these things.)  I think these people miss the point of this dish -- though pinot noir is a lovely wine and I could imagine its complexities mixing with the creaminess of the pork fat with the tenderness of its lean meat mixing with the sweet saltiness of the aromatic soy sauce braising liquid, let's face it: the Humba is for pigging out.  And besides, although Bok Choy is a perfect addition to this, where are the dried shitake mushrooms?  Where are the dried lotus blossoms?!  And where the heck is the steamed white rice?!

If the Culinary Instititute of America think THIS is Humba,
they have to set the next appointment to see the
Psychiatrist.

Tightasses waiting for the Pinot Noir rather
than the star of the show, Humba.

A classmate in Xavier, Everson Go Tian invited me once to his house where I met his mother, a rather small lady who made this dish for lunch.  She was not expecting company that day from her son who brought his classmate along (meaning, me) to partake in this meal.  But I got to taste her version which is rather on the sweeter than the saltier side and somewhat thicker and darker too.  My mother's version, because she has a tendency to skimp on meat, being a rather pricey commodity, has it light, sweet and thinner.  But being a resident of America for almost past twenty years, I have been spoiled rotten, being able to procure cuts of meat that are reserved for the elite and large quantities of “poor man’s cuts” that I can splurge on this delicacy and perfect the recipe.

So, in this version, I chose to stick to my mother’s original methods which she claimed were taught to her by my grandmother, Co Bit vda. de Siy (1906-1987) with a bit more darker on the soy sauce and sweet on the sugar.  Also, by sticking to the continuous braising method rather than the faster “pressure cooker” method, not only does the meat become fork tender but the sauce is thicker with the collagen of the skins releasing into the sauce, resulting in a heartier more “enveloping” flavor.  I think Chinese mothers and grandmothers choose to caramelize the garlic and sugar with the meats first as a prelude to the braising.  Unlike the Culinary Institute of America’s and the Frugal Chef’s (remember him?) technique of plainly concocting the braising liquid as a straight mixture with the meats to be added once it starts to boil; caramelizing the sugar first and stir frying meats next prior to adding the different liquids that make up the braising mixture provides drama and a therefore a more intense sauce.

My grandmother, Co Bit vda. de Siy (1906-1987)
whose culinary secrets I would trust to make
perfect Humba than the snots above.

Just to show you how versatile this braising technique is, it could be used with different meats such as pork (Humba), pork leg and hocks (Pata Tim or “O Ti Kha”) or beef brisket (for Beef Brisket Rice or Noodle Soup).  In this recipe, we are doing the straightforward Humba with Pork.

Ingredients:

• 2 kilos pork with skin (preferable cuts: pork belly or pork shoulder) cut in large pieces of approximately 2x2 inches
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup dark mushroom or light soy sauce
• 1 head garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon five spice powder
• 3-4 pieces star anise
• 1-2 sticks cinnamon bark
• ½ cup rice wine
• 12 – 15 pieces dried shitake mushrooms
• 1/4-1/3 package dried lotus blossoms, washed and rehydrated with water for thirty minutes
• 6 hard boiled eggs

Procedure.

1. In a braising pot when hot, using about 1/8 cup of oil, saute the garlic and brown sugar until the sugar melts and begins to caramelize.  Be careful not to burn the sugar.
2. Add and pork and stir fry until the pieces are evenly half-cooked.
3. Add the soy sauce and rice wine.  Also, add some water to cover the meat pieces.
4. Add the five spice powder, star anise and cinnamon.
5. Cover and gently skim the foam as the stew heats up.  Once it begins to boil, lower the heat to allow the meats to braise and the liquid evaporates to about half or a third depending on the thickness of the sauce desired.
6. Once the sauce is thicker, add the hard boiled eggs.  Simmer some more until the meat is tender and the sauce event thicker.  Add the mushrooms and lotus blossoms to braise and cook in the simmering sauce.  The eggs turn into a caramel color while the vegetables steam.
7. Serve with hot steamed rice or plain white steamed buns.

Tips. 

• Use a braising pot if possible.  A braising pot is heavier than a stock pot and is great for keeping in moisture during the braising process.  Also, the pointed structures on the top of the braising pot, allow condensation of stem to slowly drip back into the braising liquids and meat to be used over again during cooking.  This accounts for the fork tender meat.  If no braising pot is available, any heavy pot will do such as a French or Dutch oven.
• A thick pot is preferable over a thin one for the reasons sited above.  It keeps heat well and its thick structure prevents the meat from burning underneath.
• Take care not to burn the sugar, if it does, throw it away and start over.  Burnt sugar destroys the flavor but not caramelizing it makes a bland sauce.
• Want a sweeter sauce? Use more sugar.  If you want a saltier sauce, use more soy sauce or add salt; though the former is better than the latter as the fermented soy increases the hearty quality.
• Pork Hocks! Yes, using pork hocks instead of cuts of pork turns this dish in Pata Tim (a.k.a. Filipino for “Patang Itim”)  Now, where did this term come from? The Hokkien word is, “O Ti Kha” which literally translated as “Black Pork Legs”.
• This dish is versatile!  Without the addition of mushrooms and rehydrated dried lotus blossoms, it can be served with lightly sauteed brine pickled or fresh mustard greens, a teaspoon or two of ground peanuts, dash of hot sauce and a bit of sugar on newly steamed hot white buns.  This is the “Cua-Pao” which is a snack popular in Chinese restaurants in Manila.
• Leftovers? Get some noodles – Chinese egg noodles, that is.  Lightly boiled al dente, the noodles are first sauteed in a wok with hot oil, tossing it against the hot metal surface as it becomes lightly crispy, pour some of the sauce and toss in some Shanghai Bok Choy, serve on a plate with some meat on top – now it’s the “Humba Noodle”.  Using Pata Tim as base, it’s the Pancit Pata.
• If using beef brisket, this can be topped on steamed white rice and it’s the Beef Brisket toppings!  So, move over, Ling Nam!  But in beef brisket, the soy sauce used is lighter and probably in even lesser quantities than in pork.