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Vawksa rep
Smoked pork with mustard greens
Vawksa rep — Mizo smoked pork simmered with mustard greens
Mizo cooking in Aizawl and the hill villages of Mizoram is simple and clean, with few spices and lots of greens, and vawksa rep shows it at its best. Smoked pork (vawksa rep) is simmered until soft, then mustard greens (antam) go in and soak up its smoky, fatty broth. It is an everyday lunch with rice, and some families add a little bai (bamboo shoot) or chilli. Chef's tip: keep the stems and leaves of the greens separate; the stems need a few minutes longer.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb smoked porksmoked pork belly or a smoked pork hock from a butcher; or unsmoked pork belly plus 1 tsp smoked paprika; cut into 3 cm pieces
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 1 ⅝ in gingersliced
- 2 green chilliesslit
- 14 oz mustard greensstems sliced, leaves roughly chopped; or spring greens
- ½ tsp saltto taste
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rinse 1 ⅛ lb smoked pork and put it in a pot with 3 ¼ cups water and 1 ⅝ in ginger. Bring to the boil and skim off any foam.
8 minStep 2: Cover and simmer on a low heat for 35–40 minutes, until the pork is tender and cooked through with no pink.
38 minStep 3: Add 2 green chillies and the stems of 14 oz mustard greens and simmer for 4 minutes.
4 minStep 4: Add the leaves and simmer for 3–4 minutes more, until wilted and bright green. Common mistake: boiling the greens for 15 minutes until grey and stringy.
4 minStep 5: Taste the broth and add ½ tsp salt only if needed; the smoked pork is often salty. Serve in bowls with rice, with plenty of broth.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vawksa rep take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 55 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
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