Pork hock with star anise

It seems wherever I look I find references to bak kut teh. Meat bone tea. . . Introduced first to Singapore by the Chinese coolies at the turn of the 19th century, it soon found its ways to Malaysia and beyond. Picking up regional and ethnic variations along the way.

This is my first kitchen encounter with it, and this iteration comes from Street Food, though I've made some modifications to cooking time and have used brown sugar instead of palm. It's a simple dish, with cheap ingredients, but like many dishes with humble origins, it is full of comfort.

How? In a mortar and pestle pound 4 coriander roots (cleaned and sliced), a pinch of salt, 4 cloves of peeled garlic and 10 white peppercorns. Fry this paste in a large pan (with 2 tablespoons of oil). To this add 1 tablespoon of 5 spice powder and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Stir for a minute of so, then add 3 tablespoons of fish sauce and 4 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of water. Now add the pork hock. Mine was sliced and weighed 850g. Add more water or stock, if needed to cover the meat. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 90 minutes. Turn the heat off, add a piece of bruised ginger and two tablespoons of oyster sauce. Leave covered for at least a few hours more, to allow the meat and connective tissues to soften further. Just before eating, remove the pork from the soup, remove and shred the meat and set aside. Now briefly blanch the leaves of some kai-lan and add to the pork meat. Dress with some fresh coriander leaves and then ladle some reheated soup over this prior to serving. For extra punch make a sauce - sour and hot.

Dipping sauce - not unlike a Nước chấm. Pound 1 deseeded red chili with a pinch of salt, 2 cloves of garlic and a small slice of ginger. Then add to 1/3 cup of white vinegar and stir.

From the pictured book: The body of Alan Lee was at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital morgue. The reason that he remained in the morgue a month after his death was due to the dispute between the State Islamic Council and Alan Lee's mother, both of whom claimed the body. The disagreement was over whether Alan Lee should be buried according to Moslem or Buddhist rites. The Council insisted that Alan Lee had converted to Islam shortly before his death. They had records of his official conversion. His mother said that was not possible. She had cooked him his favourite meal the week before he died - bak kut teh, a pork belly soup. . .