Pressure cooker seems very intimidating to me in the past, because there’s always the fear on not knowing how to control the pressure and steam during the cooking and upon releasing. But with the hectic lifestyle that busy working adults are leading, these appliances however does seem a must in our lives so that we are still able to enjoy healthy home cooked food but at a fraction of the time needed.
But on measuring between long term time factor and current fear, well I choose to overcome the current and finally attempt my first try on the pressure cooker over a gas stove !
Designed and made in France, the Tefal Clipsominut Duo 2 in 1 Pressure cooker helps to save half of the time needed for regular cooking. At 5L for a pot, you are able to cook a portion huge enough to feed a family of 3 to 5 persons and with that, I actually stewed a good 1kg of pork knuckle and which occupies only half of the pot. So you can imagine how much food you can cook at just one go.
Pressure cooking works best in tough meats where a long cooking time is needed to tenderise the meat naturally without the use of chemicals such as meat tenderizer. It took me less than half of the usual 2 hours I need to stew the pork knuckle and the meat was so tenderly soft that they are falling off the bones.
The reason why I adore this pressure cooker is the fact that because it’s being used solely over a gas stove, the gravy sauce is well infused and absorbed by the meat entirely during the cooking.
And when coming to the use of it, this new pressure cooker from Tefal is an absolute noob friendly machine. Hold up the pot cover handle, twist and lift to open. When the pot cover is down and flat, the pot is locked.
And that’s only 3 functions that you need to walk through, as the picture illustrates for itself. First, pressure cooking, 2nd, releasing pressure (after it’s cooked) and third, keeping it in stewed or warm mode. It’s pretty brainless, isn’t it ? This is exactly the kind of pot perfect for anyone use because you simply do not need to spend time flipping through thick pages of operational manual.
So sharing this really flavourful and aromatic Stewed Szechuan & Ginger Pork Knuckle which I gotta swear by its taste. In fact, the pork knuckle was even better the following day after it was re-heated for consumption. The aroma that fills the house during the cooking only makes you crave to steal a bite even before it was done. But because it’s in pressure cooking, so do resist that please !! Haha !
The Szechuan peppercorns adds a good twinge of aroma to the gravy whilst the abundance of young ginger infused well into the meat and compiled with the other seasonings, this dish makes an absolute and wholesome fit with our daily starch.
The Tefal ClipsoMinut Duo retails at $309 and is available at Best Denki, Courts, Gain City, Harvey Norman, OG, Takashimaya, Tangs outlets and Lazada.
Enjoy !!
Stewed Szechuan & Ginger Pork Knuckle 四川红烧元蹄
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Recipe type: Chinese
Cuisine: Main
Serves: 3
Ingredients
- 1kg pork knuckle, cut into chunks (you can get your local butcher to cut for it)
- 4-5 stalks of spring onion (the white parts only, cut into sections)
- 60g young ginger, sliced
- 1½ tsp Szechuan peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anises
- 4-5 pcs cloves
- 40g rock sugar
- 250ml water
- 250ml stock
For the Pork Knuckle Marinade:
- 4 tbsp light soya sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soya sauce
- 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
For the Seasonings:
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp five spice powder
- ¼ tsp pepper
For the Thickening:
- 2 tsp corn flour + 2 tbsp water
Instructions
Blanch the pork knuckle in boiling water till they turn white in colour.
Run the blanched pork knuckle over some tap water and drain well.
Marinate the pork knuckle with the light and dark soya sauce and shaoxing wine. Cover with a cling wrap and set aside for an hour.
Combine the marinated pork knuckle together with the spring onion, sliced ginger, Szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon stick, star anises, cloves, rock sugar and all the rest of the seasoning ingredients in the pressure cooker pot.
Add the water and stock respectively.
Give it a few stirs to ensure the seasoning is well spread.
Close the lid of the pressure cooker pot and turn to pressure cooking for cooking over the gas stove. Timed for around 40 minutes.
Release the pressure by turning the knob to the 2nd function.
Check for desired tenderness of the pork knuckle by using a chopstick to poke through the meat. If unsatisfied, you can further pressure cook it for another 10 minutes or so.
Thicken with corn starch solution and allow it to cook uncovered for a further 10 minutes for the sauce to thicken slightly.
Once done, garnish as desired and serve hot with rice.
