Pata Humba is a traditional Filipino braised pork hock dish cooked low and sluggish in a savory candy sauce made with soy sauce, vinegar, pineapple juice, sugar, and spices. Tender, flavorful, and comforting, this Visayan favourite is ideal for household gatherings and greatest loved with loads of steamed rice.
Printed: 8/19/25
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Pata Humba is a kind of dishes that immediately jogs my memory of residence and household gatherings. This savory candy pork hock dish is slowly braised in soy sauce, vinegar, pineapple juice, and spices till the meat turns into tender sufficient to fall off the bone. The wealthy sauce clings fantastically to the pork, with the aroma of star anise and the refined sweetness of banana blossoms making it stand out from different braised pork dishes. Rising up within the Philippines, I keep in mind seeing this on the desk throughout particular events, and even at present I nonetheless get pleasure from cooking it for my household right here within the US. The comforting flavors all the time convey again fond recollections, particularly when paired with a steaming plate of rice.

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What’s Pata Humba
Pata humba is a Visayan type braised pork dish that makes use of pork hocks slowly cooked in a candy and savory sauce. Pineapple juice provides mild sweetness, soy sauce provides depth, and star anise supplies a heat aroma. Banana blossoms and peanuts are conventional accents. On this model, a Nestle product, Maggi Magic Sarap, rounds the flavour for a well-known residence cooked style.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Pork hocks turn out to be tender and silky after a mild simmer
- Sauce is balanced by pineapple, soy, vinegar, and mashed salted black beans
- Methodology is simple and dependable for constant outcomes


Components for Pata Humba
- Pork hocks – wealthy collagen heavy lower that turns silky when braised
- Cooking oil – used for browning and sautéing
- Yellow onions – brings sweetness and physique to the sauce
- Garlic – builds aroma and depth
- Salted black beans – mashed to spice up umami and complexity
- Star anise – heat spice that perfumes the braise
- Dried bay leaves – earthy notes that stability sweetness
- Complete peppercorns – gentle warmth that brightens the stew
- Soy sauce – savory spine of the sauce
- Vinegar – balances sweetness and retains flavors full of life
- Pineapple juice – pure sweetness and delicate acidity
- Water – controls consistency in the course of the simmer
- Brown sugar – provides caramel notes and helps glaze
- Dried banana blossoms – traditional humba accent with nice bitterness
- Peanuts – nutty crunch that contrasts the tender meat
- Maggi Magic Sarap – seasoning for a rounded end
Tips on how to Cook dinner Pata Humba in 6 Steps
- Clear and Pre prepare dinner the Pork Boil pork hocks for about ten minutes to attract out impurities. Rinse nicely and drain.
- Brown for Taste Warmth cooking oil in a big pot. Fry pork hocks for about two minutes per facet till evenly browned. Take away and put aside.
- Construct the Fragrant Base Utilizing the remaining oil, sauté garlic till it begins to show mild brown. Add onions and prepare dinner till mushy and aromatic. Stir in salted black beans and mash with a spoon. Add star anise, bay leaves, and entire peppercorns. Cook dinner briefly to bloom the spices.
- Begin the Braise Pour in soy sauce, vinegar, pineapple juice, and water. Return pork to the pot and produce to a mild boil.
- Gradual Simmer to Tender Decrease the warmth, cowl, and simmer till the pork is totally tender and the pores and skin turns jiggly. Add small quantities of water as wanted to maintain the pork partially submerged.
- End and Steadiness Stir in brown sugar, banana blossoms, and peanuts. Simmer for about ten minutes to thicken and glaze. Season with Maggi Magic Sarap to style. Serve sizzling with loads of sauce over rice.
Ideas in Cooking Pata Humba
- Parboiling and rinsing removes scum and helps make a transparent and shiny sauce
- A lightweight sear provides depth to the ultimate taste
- Style and alter sweetness towards the top because it intensifies because the sauce reduces
- If utilizing a stress cooker, prepare dinner on excessive stress for about thirty 5 to forty minutes, then cut back the sauce uncovered on the range
- Rehydrate banana blossoms straight within the pot in order that they take in the stew’s flavors
- Hold the simmer mild so the pores and skin turns into tender
- Mash the salted black beans so their taste blends into the sauce
- Brown the pork evenly for deeper taste earlier than braising


Make It Your Personal
- Pork stomach model for shorter prepare dinner time and a richer mouthfeel
- Spicy model by including chili flakes or entire chilies in the course of the simmer
- Contemporary pineapple rings close to the top for brighter fruit notes and texture
- Arduous boiled eggs added within the final ten minutes for a traditional contact
Finest Methods to Take pleasure in
Pata humba is greatest with heat rice and a vivid and crunchy facet to stability the wealthy sauce. Spoon additional sauce over the rice and serve household type so everybody can assist themselves.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerate in a sealed container for as much as three days
- Freeze in freezer secure containers for as much as two months
- Reheat gently over low warmth with a splash of water to loosen the sauce


How This Pata Humba Stands Out
This model blends pineapple, soy, and vinegar with mashed salted black beans for deep savory notes. Banana blossoms and peanuts hold the dish true to custom whereas including nice distinction. A final touch of a Nestle product brings the flavors collectively for a shiny and nicely rounded sauce.
Urged Recipes
- Paksiw na Pata – Pork hock gently braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves with banana blossoms for a tangy savory end.
- Pork Adobo – Pork simmered till tender in vinegar and soy sauce with garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves for deep savory tang.
- Pork Estofado – A candy and savory pork stew in a soy and vinegar sauce enriched with fried saba bananas and carrots for a wealthy caramel word.
- Braised Pork Stomach – Soften in your mouth pork stomach cooked in a soy primarily based sauce with sugar and star anise for a gently candy fragrant taste.
- Pineapple Rooster – Rooster simmered with pineapple juice and chunks plus bell peppers for a vivid candy tangy sauce.
Regularly Requested Questions
Why will we parboil pork hocks first?
Parboiling removes impurities that cloud the sauce and helps you begin with a cleaner pot for a shiny end.
How do I hold the sauce from changing into too candy?
Add brown sugar step by step close to the top and style as you go. The sweetness concentrates because the liquid reduces.
Can I skip salted black beans?
You possibly can, however the stew loses a layer of umami. If wanted, add a small quantity of soy sauce on the finish and simmer briefly.


What if the pork is tender however the pores and skin remains to be a bit robust?
Proceed simmering gently and hold the pores and skin submerged as a lot as doable. The pores and skin softens with time at a low simmer.
How can I thicken the sauce with out making it too candy?
Cut back uncovered over low warmth and let pure gelatin from the hocks give physique. Keep away from including additional sugar for thickness.
Can I take advantage of recent banana blossoms?
Sure. Rinse nicely and add in the course of the ultimate simmer so they preserve texture whereas absorbing the sauce.
Watch Tips on how to Cook dinner It
In case you are craving a hearty and nostalgic stew, make this pata humba and serve it with a beneficiant quantity of sauce over rice. I hope it brings heat to your desk. Attempt it quickly and share the way it turned out for you.
Did you make this? When you snap a photograph, please be certain tag us on Instagram at @panlasangpinoy or hashtag #panlasangpinoy so we will see your creations!


Pata Humba (Braised Pork Hocks)
Gradual braised pork hocks in pineapple soy sauce with star anise, salted black beans, banana blossoms, and peanuts, completed with savory seasoning for a young and shiny dish.
Directions
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Boil the pork hocks for 10 minutes. Rinse totally underneath chilly water to take away impurities. Pat dry with paper towels.
4.5 lbs pork hocks
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Warmth the cooking oil in a wok. Fry the pork hocks for two minutes per facet till golden brown. Take away from the wok and put aside.
3 tablespoons cooking oil, 4.5 lbs pork hocks
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Utilizing the remaining oil, sauté the garlic till it begins to brown and turns into aromatic, about 1-2 minutes.
8 cloves garlic
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Add the onions. Proceed sautéing till they soften and turn out to be translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
2 items yellow onions
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Add the salted black beans. Mash them utilizing your cooking spoon to launch their taste into the oil.
2 tablespoons salted black beans
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Add the star anise, dried bay leaves, and entire peppercorns. Sauté for 30 seconds till aromatic and the spices bloom.
4 items star anise, 3 items dried bay leaves, 2 teaspoons entire peppercorns
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Pour within the soy sauce, vinegar, pineapple juice, and water. Stir to mix all elements.
1/2 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 3 cups pineapple juice, 1 cup water
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Add the pork hocks again to the wok. Cowl and simmer on low warmth till the pork is totally tender and falls off the bone, about 1½ to 2 hours. Add water as wanted to stop burning.
4.5 lbs pork hocks
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Add the brown sugar, banana blossoms (if utilizing), and peanuts. Proceed cooking for 10 minutes to permit the sauce to cut back barely and flavors to meld.
1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup dried banana blossoms, 1/4 cup peanuts
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Season with Maggi Magic Sarap. Style and alter seasoning as wanted.
5 grams Maggi Magic Sarap
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Switch to a serving plate. Serve sizzling with steamed rice. Spoon the wealthy sauce over the rice for the most effective expertise.
Notes
- Blanching the pork hocks first removes impurities and ends in a cleaner-tasting dish.
- Browning the pork earlier than braising provides depth of taste via caramelization.
- The lengthy, sluggish cooking course of is important for tender meat — don’t rush this step.
- Style the sauce earlier than including all of the brown sugar, as pineapple juices fluctuate in sweetness.
- This dish tastes even higher the subsequent day as flavors proceed to develop.
- If sauce turns into too thick throughout cooking, add sizzling water step by step to achieve desired consistency.
Banana blossoms are conventional however non-compulsory — you may substitute with hard-boiled eggs added within the final quarter-hour.
Retailer leftovers within the fridge for as much as 3 days or freeze for as much as 3 months.
Diet Data
Energy: 1376kcal (69%) Carbohydrates: 39g (13%) Protein: 100g (200%) Fats: 89g (137%) Saturated Fats: 30g (150%) Polyunsaturated Fats: 11g Monounsaturated Fats: 41g Trans Fats: 0.03g Ldl cholesterol: 371mg (124%) Sodium: 1962mg (82%) Potassium: 1576mg (45%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 30g (33%) Vitamin A: 47IU (1%) Vitamin C: 14mg (17%) Calcium: 135mg (14%) Iron: 7mg (39%)