''Pata tim'', also spelled ''patatim'', is a Filipino braised pork hock dish slow-cooked until very tender in soy sauce,

black peppercorn Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diamet ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northe ...

, bay leaves, and star anise sweetened with '' muscovado'' sugar. It also commonly includes ''

péchay Bok choy (American English, Canadian English, and Australian English), pak choi ( British English) or pok choi (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''chinensis'') is a type of Chinese cabbage, used as food. ''Chinensis'' varieties do not form heads and have ...

'' and

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s. The dish is commonly served in regions in the Philippines with large

Chinese Filipino Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin Chinese in the Philippines, Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mo ...

populations, especially in the

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

district of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

Origin

''Pata tim'', like the more common ''

humbà ''Humbà'', also spelled ''hombà'', is a Filipino braised pork dish originating from the Visayas Islands of the Philippines. It traditionally uses pork belly slow-cooked until very tender in soy sauce, vinegar, black peppercorns, garlic ...

'', is derived from the Chinese red braised pork. It is closer to the original dish than ''humbà'', in that it sometimes uses Chinese

rice wine Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermented and distilled from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch that has been converted to sugars. Microbes are the ...

and other Chinese spices and condiments. However, it is more commonly cooked closer to the Filipino ''

paksiw na pata ''Paksiw'' () is a Philippine cuisine, Filipino style of cooking, whose name means "to cook and simmer in vinegar". Common dishes bearing the term, however, can vary substantially depending on what is being cooked. ''Pinangat na isda'' may so ...

'', but it does not use

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ...

or uses only a very small amount of it. Like ''humbà'', it can also add common Filipino ingredients like

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centurie ...

s, banana flowers,

saba banana Saba banana (pron. or ), is a triploid hybrid ( ABB) banana cultivar originating from the Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can also be eaten raw. It is one of the most important banana varieties in Philippine cuisine. I ...

s, and '' patis''. The name, ''Pata tim'', as part of the

Filipino language Filipino (; , ) is an Austronesian language. It is the national language ( / ) of the Philippines, and one of the two official languages of the country, with English. It is a standardized variety of Tagalog based on the native dialect, sp ...

is originally a combination of , which originally itself was from es, pata, lit=paw; foot; leg, and

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

, forming the full term, ''Pata tim'', literally meaning " braised pork hock" as part of its origins from the Chinese dish, red braised pork.

Description

The most basic ''pata tim'' recipe use ''pata'' ( pork hock or

pig's trotters A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe, or sometimes known as a pig's foot, is the culinary term for the foot of a pig. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s. Description Pigs' ...

). It is traditionally cooked whole and not chopped, unlike ''

''. The hock is sometimes first marinated overnight in

brine Brine is a high-concentration Solution (chemistry), solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of ...

. It is then seared in oil in a large pan for a few minutes with

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is th ...

until lightly browned, then set aside. The rest of the ingredients, namely soy sauce, '' muscovado'' sugar (or brown sugar), garlic,

s, star anise, and bay leaves are added to a large pot of water and brought to a boil. The hock is added and boiled for a few minutes. The heat is lowered and the pot is allowed to simmer for a few hours until the meat is very tender. A pressure cooker can also be used to shorten the cooking time. The mushrooms and blanched ''

'' are added last. It is served with white rice. The dish can be modified extensively. It can use other Chinese spices and condiments like

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. O ...

, Chinese

hoisin sauce Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce commonly used in Cantonese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fry, or as dipping sauce. It is dark-coloured in appearance and sweet and salty in taste. Although regional variants exist, hoi ...

five spice powder Five-spice powder () is a spice mixture of five or more spices used predominantly in almost all branches of Chinese cuisine. It is also used in Hawaiian cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine. The five flavors of the spices (sweet, bitter, sour, sal ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, brea ...

bark, and so on. Though it can also use native condiments like '' patis'' (fish sauce). It can also include other ingredients like

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of foo ...

green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedali ...

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the ...

s, sugarcane, banana flowers,

s, and

s, among others. The sauce is naturally thick due to the

gelatin Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...

in the hock, but in some recipes,

cornstarch Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or soups, ...

is added to achieve the same effect.

Origin

Description

See also

References

Further reading