Thit Heo Mam Ruoc - Pork Shoulder, Slow-Cooked with Shrimp Paste and Lemon Grass

I had so much fun cooking this dish, and believe it or not, this is the very first time I've used shrimp paste in my cooking. I couldn't find pork shoulder, so I ended up using pork belly instead. I was just ready for any kind of pork at this point! I may hold back on the salt in future, as there was plenty in the shrimp paste. It was great as pork curry puffs the next night, too!

1kg (2lb 4oz) pork shoulder, with skin and fat
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
4 x 8cm (3 1/4 in) pieces of lemon grass (with white part), finely chopped
2 spring onions (scallions), chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white pepper
approximately 2 litres (70 fl oz / 8 cups) pork stock

Wash the pork under cold water, then pat dry with paper towel. Place on a cutting board and cut into 4 x 1cm (1 1/2 x 1/2 in) pieces. Add the oil to a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the lemon grass, spring onions and garlic. Fry until the lemon grass starts to brown slightly, then add the shrimp paste with 2 tablespoons of water and increase the heat. Add the pork to the pan and stir through well. Seal the pork, then add the remaining ingredients and enough pork stock to cover the meat by about 2cm (3/4 in), then bring it to a slow simmer. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, adding a little extra stock if required. You should be left with enough liquid to sauce the dish.

Serves 6.