Never say never.

Today's "Never have I ever" ingredient was star anise. I'd seen it at Safeway (and thought it was the awesomest looking spice ever, but I never had a reason to buy it. Until now!

"Red-Cooked Pork" (6 quart pot)

~1 1/2 lbs boneless pork loin (mine was actually just over 1 lb.)
~1/4 c Korean wine (It was supposed to be Chinese "Shaoxing" cooking wine, but the liquor store employee had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. She pointed me to the "Asian section" and I grabbed the cheapest thing I could find. AND since I can't read Korean, I took a picture of the bottle I bought:

 ~4 garlic cloves, whole
~1 c water
~2 T dark brown sugar
~2 T soy sauce
~3 whole star anise (AKA the most adorable spice ever. Yeah, I said it.)
~rice, cooked

Heat a non-stick skillet.
Braise the pork on all sides.
Place pork in crock pot.
Add wine, cloves, water, sugar, soy sauce, and anise.
Cover and cook on low for 9 hours.
Remove pork from crock pot and cut into slices.
Pour sauce in a small sauce pan and cook until it reduces and thickens.
Discard anise. (I kept one so I could take a picture of its adorableness.)
Serve over rice.
Drizzle sauce over pork.

3 servings.

If you hate the smell of licorice DO NOT for the love of everything that is holy make this. It was like I had a licorice scented candle burning ALL DAY LONG. Luckily, I like licorice. A lot.

Other half: Dinner smells amazing.
Me: You like licorice?
Him: I hate licorice.
Me: It's not licorice...

This was delicious and does not taste like licorice. We were both a little sad that there wasn't enough to have seconds AND have leftovers.