Mexican Pork Stew
Cuisine: Mexican | Shared by: Cris Alvarez

Anywhere other than Mexico and a few places in the U.S., there's a scarcity of palatable Mexican restaurants. While living in China, I was lucky to have many of the ingredients needed to make Mexican food. Thankfully chef Cris Alvarez, a dear friend of my nephew Jordan, visited and taught me how to make a Mexican dish that tasted like home across the Pacific. Yes, some Mexican dishes remind me of home in California—birria, menudo, carnitas, and tacos of course. Invite some friends over,  pop open some cervezas, serve this feel-good stew.

What you’ll need: A blender and a cast-iron wok with a lid.

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Ingredients
Rub

• 1 kilogram lean pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons Mexican chili powder*
• 1 teaspoon salt

Roast and blend —Salsa Roja

• 660 grams organic vine-ripened tomato
• 150 grams green mild spice chillies, about 3 medium-sized chillies
• 300 grams white onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeño
• 1 handful cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon Mexican chili powder*
• 1 tablespoon salt

Brown, Deglaze, and Braise

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 700 grams potato, diced
• 3 tablespoons beer
• 2 teaspoons table salt
• 200 mL water

*Mexican chili powder includes: paprika, chili, cumin, oregano, cracked black pepper, garlic. Make your own!

Method
Rub
Combine Mexican chili powder and salt then rub into the pork pieces. Set aside to marinate.

Roast and blend—Salsa Roja
Roast tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and garlic in oven at 350ºF (177ºC) for 20 minutes. Roast green chillies over an open flame then remove charred skin, deseed, and devein. Blend roasted vegetables with cilantro, 1 tablespoon Mexican chili powder, and one tablespoon of salt in a blender.

Brown
Heat a little cooking oil (2 tablespoons) in a skillet and brown the pork pieces over high flame, until golden brown. Brown in two parts so as to not crowd the pieces, achieving a crust. Remove the pork from the wok and set aside. Do not discard the brown bits. We want those yummy bits.

Deglaze
Add to the wok the red onion, garlic, and potatoes and sauté for a minute. Add the beer and sauté for four minutes or until onions have softened.

Braise
Return the pork to the wok and add water and a dash of beer (1 tablespoon). Add enough salsa to cover the pork partially. Cover and stew over low flame for an a hour and a half to two hours. Use any leftover salsa for dipping tortilla chips or spicing up your next meal.

Serve with warm corn tortillas and a stir-fry of seasonal vegetables.