Pork cooked with both fermented bamboo shoot and axone simultaneously — the most complex and intensely flavoured of all Naga preparations, combining three preserved ingredients.
Ingredients
600g pork belly — cut into 3 cm pieces
3 tbsp fermented bamboo shoot — drained and roughly chopped
2 tbsp axone (fermented soybean)
4 garlic cloves — crushed
1.5 inch ginger — sliced
2 dried Naga chillies
2 cups water
Salt
Method
Place pork in a heavy pot with 2 cups water.
Bring to a boil. Skim foam thoroughly.
Add crushed garlic, sliced ginger and Naga chillies.
Cover and cook on medium for 20 minutes.
Add fermented bamboo shoot. Stir.
Add axone. Stir well — both the bamboo sourness and the axone umami will layer into the broth simultaneously.
Continue simmering covered on medium-low for 30 to 35 more minutes until pork is completely tender.
Uncover. Cook 5 to 8 minutes until the broth concentrates slightly.
Season with salt — taste carefully as both bamboo and axone contribute saltiness.
The finished preparation should be a harmonious combination of sour (bamboo), intense umami (axone), smoky-pungent (Naga chilli), and the deep richness of slow-cooked pork.