Monday, June 29, 2009

Traditional Teochew Jellied Pig's Trotters Recipe

Whenever I visit Singapore. I love to browse around the hawker stalls around the older markets (Macpherson and Joo Chiat and the People's Park Complex), where I always end up eating my lunch over again. I love looking at the stacks of traditional treats displaying in rows of food trays: pig's trotters, pig's ears and snorts,skins, intestines, steaming kiam chye, chicken feet and innards. It is the pigs ears and trotters that always draw my attention. However, it is always impossible to get my son to taste these aspic Singaporean delicacies without having a grimace on his face.
Have you tried jellied pig's trotters? Here is a traditional Teochew recipe, which we have found recently. It was from my late maternal uncle. He was a cook not in a restaurant but catering for the "street banquets" at weddings and funerals. I doubt if any caterer today bother to make this labour intensive homemade dish since many have forgotten about this dish. Here is the recipe for a revival of this traditional dish.

Jellied Pig's Trotters Recipe:

Ingredients;

1.5kg pig's trotters
500g pork shin bone
10 cloves garlic
3Tbsp Chinese Cooking wine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 hard boiled eggs sliced
1 cup frozen peas and carrots.
5pcs rehyrated stone-ear mushrooms and slivered
 
Soak the pig's trotters in ice cold water for 2 hours. Drain and put them in a large stockpot. Add enough water to completely cover and bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes and skimming off the scums and impurities. Drain and rinse in cold water a couple of times. Return the trotters to the and add garlic, rice wine, salt and pepper. Cover with cold water and bring to boil again and skimming off any impurities. Reduce the heat to low and partially covered with a lid and simmer for 5 to 6 hours. Lift out the trotters and meat with a slotted spoon and transfer to cutting board. Collect the meat and discard the bones. Chop the meat into fine dices and set aside. Pour the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a bowl. Let cool and skim off any fat. Carefully pour the stock into a oblong cake tin 4 by 8 inchesand refrigerate. When the jelly is half set, scatter the diced meat and sliced egg on the surface and push them gently into the jelly. Sprincle the mushroom, peas and carrots between the meat and eggs. Cover and refrigerate overnight or until firm. To serve, cut into bite size square as an appertizer. To be continued.

11 comments:

  1. hmm. i think i have seen this around. but any pictures to confirm??

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  2. I love to eat jellied pig trotters. I used to go to the hawkers in front of Thong Chai Medical Institution for the food. It is hard to come by now after all the street hawkers had been cleared. The food was really shiok!

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  3. Thanks for visiting my blog. I can vividly remember rows and rows of hawker stalls in front of the Thong Chai Medical Institution in the '60s. I used to enjoy eating the curry laksa mee and the freshly made soya milk. Yummy!

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  4. Hi BY,
    Photos akan datang lah. First must get the trotters from the Chinese butcher leh. Will sent invite when it is cooked. Please wait.

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  5. Hi Uncle Phil,

    I remember my mother cooking this dish very often when my grandfather is still alive. Cannot recall her adding carrots and peas!

    Cheers
    Lim

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  6. Hi Lim,
    Yes, your mother prepared it in the traditional way. I think the carrots and peas was added to brighten up the dish ..???

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  7. hi phil, you can get pretty good teochew jelly pig trotters from this stall at jalan berseh food centre, not far from the infamous desker road. you may want to read about it in this very popular singapore food blog

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  8. Hi yg,
    Glad to know that you arrived safety back home.We are so pleased to know you through the blog which allows us to add Victor and Philip to our list of newfound Sg. friends. We hope to add more friends to the list.
    Thanks too for the food blog.
    Cheers

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  9. hi phil, ya, i am safely back but not healthily back because i have developed some flu symptoms, like cough, sore throat and runny nose.
    talking about adding more friends, i would recommend that you check out this blog to keep in touch with the s'pore scene.

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  10. Hi yg,
    Hope you get well soon. I had a cough for about a month and I didn't fuss over it. I knew it was not the babi flu as I had it before it came here.
    Please take care. I clicked on the blog you recommended but it came back to me. :)

    Cheers.

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  11. Hi,

    Came across your recipe for pork trotter jelly and i must say thanks a lot, because it is so difficult to find!

    I would like to know though, what is the purpose of soaking the trotters for 2 hours?

    Also, what is the reason behind draining and rinsing it for a couple of times?
    If it is to rid of impurities, shouldnt once be enough?

    Thanks!

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