Fire-Cooked Braised Vegetables and Meat in a Cauldron

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make fire-cooked braised vegetables and meat in a cauldron? First, prep the pork. Boneless pork shoulder (the neck end) is best — it's nicely marbled and juicy. Rinse the meat under running water, pat it dry with a kitchen towel, and cut it up. Don't cut the pieces too small — about the size of a matchbox or a little bigger.

2. Step 2:

   

   Next, prep the vegetables. Peel the potatoes, carrot, onion, and garlic.

3. Step 3:

   

   Wash all the vegetables in clean water. Keep the potatoes in a bowl of water, or they'll darken if they sit peeled and dry for a while. Pat the tomatoes, carrot, onion, garlic, and pepper dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture.

4. Step 4:

   

   Light the fire and set up the cauldron. Pour in the vegetable oil and heat it well. Using a slotted spoon, ladle the boiling oil up over the sides of the cauldron (be extremely careful not to burn yourself!). Cut one onion in half and drop one half in to fry.

5. Step 5:

   

   Add the meat to the cauldron. Stirring constantly, brown the pork in the oil until golden on all sides. Pour in a little water, cover the cauldron, and braise the meat until nearly done (40–60 minutes). Keep the fire under the cauldron just below medium.

6. Step 6:

   

   Lift the lid now and then to make sure the meat isn't scorching; if it is, add a splash of water. Meanwhile, prep everything else. Cut the carrot into large sticks, slice the remaining onion into half-rings, cut the large garlic cloves into 2–4 pieces, and leave the small ones whole.

7. Step 7:

   

   Halve the bell peppers and remove the cores and seeds. Cut them into thin strips or half-rings.

8. Step 8:

   

   Cut out the stem end of the tomatoes and cut them into small wedges.

9. Step 9:

   

   After the time is up, lift the lid; if there happens to be a lot of liquid in the cauldron, add more wood, get the fire as hot as possible, and boil off the excess. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and pepper to the cauldron.

10. Step 10:

    

    Stirring with the slotted spoon, fry the vegetables together with the meat for about 5–10 minutes.

11. Step 11:

    

    Add the tomatoes.

12. Step 12:

    

    Next, spread the potatoes in an even layer. I use medium-sized potatoes and put them in the cauldron whole. If yours are large, cut them into evenly sized pieces.

13. Step 13:

    

    Pour water into the cauldron so it almost covers the potatoes (as in the photo). Salt to taste. At this point you can add your favorite spices. Bring the cauldron to a boil, then pull out a few pieces of wood to bring the fire down to medium and braise the potatoes and meat with the lid on.

14. Step 14:

    

    After about 20 minutes, check the potatoes for doneness by piercing one with the tip of a knife.

15. Step 15:

    

    Stir some finely chopped fresh herbs into the dish.

16. Step 16:

    

    The fragrant potatoes and meat are ready! Time to serve!