Filipino Pork Pata Tim - Instant Pot + Stove-top

The Filipino Pork Pata Tim is a sweet-salty, tender and hefty stew of pork hocks or knuckles. I transformed this classic, heirloom recipe from my mother into an entree that cooks under an hour in High Pressure in the Instant Pot, the current favorite kitchen appliance. This recipe was from my cookbook Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother's Traditional Philippine Food In a Multicooker Pot (Amazon.com). Serves 2 to 4. My cookbook recipe was featured on Positively Filipino online magazine.

*I also offer the traditional, stove-top way to cook Pata Tim in the procedure below.

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian, Filipino

Keyword: Instant Pot Filipino Pork Pata Tim

Servings: people

Calories: 74kcal

Author: Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino

Equipment

Instant Pot multicooker - 6 quarts or 8 quarts (or any brand of pressure cooker)
Silicone oven mitts or metal cooking accessories recommended for the Instant Pot

Ingredients

4 pounds pork pata (hock, knuckles, trotters); bone-in cut into serving pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon calamansi juice or use lemon juice
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic peeled, mashed
1 whole white or yellow onion chopped
3 star anise points (broken from 1 whole pod piece)
1 disc (4 ounce) panocha (or substitute 1/2 cup brown sugar) from Asian markets
2 pieces bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups organic beef or chicken broth
steamed rice for serving

Instructions

To cook in the Instant Pot:

In a large bowl, marinate the pork pata in soy sauce and calamansi juice. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Line the bottom of the inside pot of the multicooker with vegetable oil.
Add the pata, garlic, onions, star anise, panocha (or brown sugar), bay leaves, black peppercorns and salt. Pour the broth. Do not stir.
Secure the lid. Check that the cooking pressure is on High and the release valve is set to Sealing.
Select Manual High Pressure for 45 minutes.
When buzzer sounds to announce cooking is complete, do a Quick Release. Open the lid carefully. Stir the ingredients.
Serve warm with steamed rice.

To cook on the stove-top:

Marinate the pork pata with the ingredients as directed above. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Over medium-high heat, in a large stockpot, pour the vegetable oil.
Add the pata, garlic, onions, star anise, panocha (or brown sugar), bay leaves, black peppercorns and salt. Pour the broth.
Cover the stockpot. Boil then simmer to a medium for 2 1/2 hours or till meat is tender. When meat is cooked and soft, remove the cover. Continue cooking for 15 minutes over medium heat till sauce is reduced and has a slightly thick consistency.
Serve warm with rice.

Notes on the Instant Pot:

It takes about 17 to 20 minutes for the Instant Pot to pre-heat before the High Pressure cooking time begins. For other multicookers, check the product manual.
For safety, use accessories recommended for the Instant Pot or most multicookers like silicone or metal. Do not use glassware.
Read the manual for complete instructions.

Cook's comments:

Panocha is a raw sugarcane cake in the Philippines and some Asian countries. Reddish-brown in color, it is made from boiled molasses and molded into a round disc resembling a coconut shell. In America, they are sold in Asian markets or online sources.
When purchasing, the pork pata usually comes in a long, whole piece. You can ask the butcher to cut it up in serving pieces, about 3 to 4 inches each. This is a free service of most butchers which you should use.

Nutrition