Mizoram Vawksa Rep Smoked Pork Mizo Traditional

Ingredients

• 400 g smoked pork — cut into pieces (available at Northeast specialty stores; or use pork belly with 1/2 tsp liquid smoke; alternatively smoke fresh pork yourself over charcoal for 20 minutes)
• 1 cup bamboo shoots — boiled and cut into strips
• 4 cups water
• 4 garlic cloves — coarsely crushed
• 1 inch ginger — sliced
• 2 green chilli — slit
• salt to taste
• spring onions for garnish

Method

1. Place smoked pork in pot: Put the smoked pork pieces into a pot. Add water to cover.
2. Add aromatics: Add crushed garlic, sliced ginger and slit green chilli.
3. Bring to a boil: Heat on medium-high. Bring to a full boil.
4. Add bamboo shoots: Add the prepared bamboo shoot strips.
5. Reduce and simmer: Reduce to medium. Simmer covered for 20 minutes. Smoked pork is already partially cooked from the smoking process — it needs less time than raw pork.
6. The smoke character: As the smoked pork simmers, the smoky character infuses through the water, creating a lightly smoky, savoury broth. This broth is as important as the meat itself.
7. Season carefully: Add salt — smoked pork is already salty from the smoking process. Taste the broth before adding any salt.
8. Check the bamboo shoots: The bamboo should be tender but still have a slight chew.
9. Taste the broth: The vawksa rep broth should be smoky, savoury from the pork and slightly pungent from the garlic and bamboo.
10. Serve: Garnish with spring onions. Ladle into bowls with broth, pork and bamboo shoots. Serve with steamed rice.
11. Note: Vawksa Rep is the smoked pork preparation that is specific to Mizo food culture — the Mizo people traditionally smoke large quantities of pork after a pig slaughter and store it for regular use. The smoking technique used in Mizoram is similar to techniques found across the Northeast hills — hanging meat over slow-burning wood fires for hours or days. Smoked pork is consumed by the Mizo community throughout the week, not just on special occasions.