Black vinegar pig trotters

This is my favourite dish and also my dad's. I even wanted to eat it so much that I bought a claypot specifically for it, as vinegar has a disastrous effect on metal. Even though it's supposed to be safe on stainless steel (even the bloggers differ on this), I don't want to be subjecting my precious pots that I got when I got married and are meant to last me a lifelong, on this. Although it's traditionally for confinement ladies and thus considered very 'heaty', it's great for winter. I also found out from various blogs that it only becomes heaty when brewing the ginger and keeping it in black vinegar like a herbal tincture, and using old vinegar. It's less heaty when using young vinegar.

For me, these are the most seminal recipes: Burning Kitchen (has video) and Christine's talk about the herbal tincture method, BeautifulVoyager (has video) used it for her confinement but modernised the method, but Spice'N'Pans (has video) did it for everyday eating. Interestingly, Annielicious even cooks it the traditional way over the charcoal stove in a clay pot, and adds wine-soaked red dates! I might try that one day. Here is a compilation of all their tips but for everyday eating rather than confinement. 

Ingredients

500g to 1kg ginger - mix of old and young (Bentong ginger if possible is more aromatic)

1 to 2 full front trotters, chopped into pieces (around 700g to 1.5kg). The front trotters are preferred for their meat and the back for collagen. Possibly use a mix of both ie 1 front and 1 back foot..

3 tbsp sesame seed oil

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

750ml of black sweet vinegar, Chan Kong Thye (bulldog picture, use Pink double strength) or 1 bottle of 2 bottles (600ml each) Pat Chun sweetened vinegar (the only one I could find in my Asian grocer)

5 tbsp brown sugar (or more to taste) or 100g gula melaka or palm sugar

Pinch of salt

Coarse salt (for washing the trotters)

2l water (for boiling)

Method

1. Prepare the ginger. Scrub it clean and cut into chunks. If using young ginger, skin doesn't need to be removed, but do remove loose bits. (Extra step: dry in the sun for a week to absorb the vinegar) Smash/bruise it to release the flavour.

2. Prepare the trotters. Rub the trotters with coarse salt while washing. Wash to remove any blood. Blanch the trotters. In a big pot, add 2l of water or enough to cover the trotters. Add the trotters to the cold water and bring to boil. If adding trotters to boiling water, the trotters will be sealed and the blood remains. Boil for 10 to 15 mins. Discard the water. Wash the trotters again to clean off the scum.

3. Optional way to prepare trotter from SoupedUpRecipes braised trotters: Soak for 2 hrs in water with sliced ginger, crushed spring onion, 2 tbsp of chinese cooking wine. Using the same water, bring to a boil and then boil for 10 minutes. Discard everything and wash the trotters clean of scum.

4. Pat dry and use the knife to scrape off any hair or pluck them out with tweezers. It's easier to pluck after being blanched.

5. The confinement method is to fry in a dry wok at medium low heat, fry the ginger until very dry. Once dry, add the 3 tbsp sesame seed oil and continue to fry but be careful not to burn. Alternatively for everyday eating, add sesame oil. Without needing to warm up the pot and oil, and fry the ginger until dry. 

6. Optional: lightly brown the trotters, then add the sugar at this point and lightly caramelise the sugar.

7. In a clay pot, pour in the entire bottle of black vinegar and use the bottle to measure 1 bottle's worth of water (enough to cover the trotters), and pour that in. Bring to a boil. Transfer the trotters and ginger to the claypot. The trotters should ideally go into hot liquid or skin will shrink and turn hard. Once boiling, add in the brown sugar (if didn't do step 6).

8. Turn down to medium low and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours until soft. (if using the stainless steel pot or wok, 30 minutes of simmering suffices). Stir every 30 minutes or so. You should be able to poke through the trotter with a chopstick. If intending to steep and store, don't cook for too long as the trotters will continue to soften in the vinegar. *Also possible to use IP and cook for 10 minutes for tender trotter and 15 mins for fall off the bone.

8. Check seasoning and add salt if needed. Add the hard boiled eggs in the last 15 minutes only. Let the eggs soak in the sauce for at least 4 hrs. The trotters (without eggs) will taste better the next day and can be soaked for up to 3 days and will taste even better.

9. To store, remove the eggs and store separately from the sauce or they will dehydrate and harden. Store the sauce in a glass or ceramic vessel, not metal. The pork will continue to soften as it steeps in vinegar so depending on how soft they were cooked to begin with, consider whether to store together. 

10. To reheat, reheat only enough to each time (few eggs, few trotters and enough vinegar) over the stove. The microwave will only cause the trotters to harden. This can be stored in the fridge for up a month but the trotters must remain submerged. If keeping for that long, take out the sauce every week and reboil then cool down and re-store.