Braised ham hock with chilli relish and asparagus salad
Matt's spiced (and spicy!) ham hock is the perfect partner for a tangy asparagus salad.
Ingredients
For the ham hock
- 1 small ham hock
- 4 small, round shallots, peeled and left whole
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 star anise
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2cm/¾in piece ginger, peeled and sliced
- 3 cardamom pods
- 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock
For the chilli relish
- 4 mild red chillies or 2 long red peppers
- 2 Thai red chillies
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the asparagus salad
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 4 spears fresh asparagus, thinly sliced width-ways
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced into rings
- 1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
Method
Place all the ham hock ingredients into a large pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Skim the liquid frequently to remove any froth. Cook for 2–3 hours until soft. Allow to cool in the stock before breaking into chunks.
To make the chilli relish, blitz the chillies, peppers and garlic briefly to a coarse paste in a blender or food processor. Add the oil to a pan and fry the chilli mixture over a medium heat with the shrimp paste. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
To make the asparagus salad, mix together the lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar and caster sugar in a large bowl then toss with the asparagus, shallot and coriander.
To serve, spoon some chilli relish onto the base of a serving dish. Add the ham hock, whole shallots and pour in some of the strained cooking stock. Top with the asparagus salad.