Humba Bisaya (dark, sweet and sticky pork stew)

Humba is one of my favorite foods. I can never grow tired of it. Luckily for me, my mom has several humba recipes and I think she makes one of the best that I've ever tried. This one is my favorite type of humba: dark, sweet and sticky. It does take me 2-3 hours to make it but it is very very easy.

A warning: this is not the healthiest food option.


INGREDIENTS
Garlic
Onion
Celery

Black Peppercorns

Star Anise

Bay Leaf
Pork (combination of Belly, Knuckles and/or Tail), cut into large cubes/pieces
Silver Swan Soy Sauce
Muscovado Sugar 
A can of Coca cola


STEPS
1. Place cleaned pork pieces in a large stewing pot.
2. In a cup, combine equal parts of the soy sauce and the sugar (about a quarter of a cup each for every pound of meat) then pour over meat in the pot. Mix to coat all pieces.
3. Add peeled and smashed garlic, peppercorns, star anise and bay leaf into the meat ans mix.
4. Place peeled and halved onion and celery stalk over the meat. Cover pot and place on low heat and let cook for about one hour stirring once or twice in between.
5. Add one can of coke to the stew and stir.
7. Continue cooking on low heat  heat until meat is tender and the liquid is reduced to a sticky sauce, about 1 and a half to 2 hours more, stirring every 15-20 minutes.

Best served with steamed white rice and balanced with some steamed green veggies.
Note: As leftover, this dish gets better each time you re-heat or put in the microwave so for best immediate results, allow the dish to sit for an hour or so after cooking and just warm it up again before serving.