Reader recipe: Hamonado

"Hamonado is a native recipe from my province in the Philippines,” Jose Antonio Villamil, writes. “If you ask people from the central and northern Philippines they might confuse this recipe for hamon (ham) which is another dish we cook and prepare for Christmas. Hamonado is different as you can serve this dish not only on special occasions but also every day. This is a recipe I learned from my late father. Ideally use pork with skin on or a slab of pork with fat because they retain moisture (eg. pork belly, pork hock and pork shoulder). If you are after some tropical meal, this one is for you!"

Ingredients

1 ½ kgs	Pork, belly with bone in, hock or shoulder (Main)
2 cups	Pineapple juice, unsweetened (Main)
4 Tbsp	Oyster sauce (Main)
3 medium	Garlic cloves, lightly pounded
1 whole	Onion, quartered
1 tsp	Black peppercorns
2	Star anise
1 tsp	Allspice
2	Bay leaves
5 Tbsp	Brown sugar, 2 Tbsp for sauce and another 3 Tbsp when reducing sauce
1 jar	Pineapple jam, optional, some according to taste for sauce to cook pork and a little more when garnishing

To garnish

1	Pineapple, sliced, as much as needed for garnish (Main)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients together in a slow cooker and cook until tender, being careful not to tear skin or detach bones. Cook for about 1½hours to get about 1 kg of pork.
2. When you've reached the desired tenderness, remove from slow cooker (save the brine) and preheat oven to 180C. Place pork in baking pan, cook in oven until skin is brown, approximately 10-15 minutes.
3. Reduce brine to thick, adding 3-5 Tbsp brown sugar but being careful not to burn sauce. Place pineapple slices on boiled sauce, cover for 10 minutes to make pineapple tender.
4. Remove oven-baked pork. Place in a serving plate. Garnish by putting jam on skin sparingly and pour over sauce, putting pineapple slices on top and serve.