Cantonese pig trotters braised with black vinegar and ginger

Browsing through the photo gallery of the recent Singapore Food Festival's Heritage Feast, which offered 5 different Chinese dialect buffets and 115 dishes to those lucky Singaporeans at home, I couldn't help but salivate at the flavourful Hokkien Kong Bak Pau (braised pork belly served in bun) to Cantonese pig trotters braised with black vinegar and ginger. At the same time thinking aloud to my wife, who was browsing at the photos with me, "wouldn't it be nice if I could only duplicate some of our heritage dishes at home". Before I could finish my thought, my wife seized the opportunity and said " you"ll be the chef and I'll be the food taster", as if cooking the weekend family meals have already been delegated to me from now on . One hundred and fifteen dishes menu is a tall order and making these popular dishes into a reality at our dinner table is definitely a real challenge for next 115 weekends.

Cantonese pig trotters braised with black vinegar and ginger:

Ingredients

2 pig’s trotters cut into serving pieces (get your butcher to do it).
500ml black vinegar
500ml water
500g ginger, cleaned and smashed lightly
300g rock sugar ( if unavailable use brown sugar)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Salt to taste

Method


Blanch trotter pieces in boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove and drain to dry. Heat wok and add rock sugar and stir around until it is caramelised. Add blanched trotters to wok and coat well with caramel and cook for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off and set trotters aside. In a heavy sauce pan, heat sesame oil and fry ginger till golden brown and aromatic. Add the black vinegar, water and bring to a boil. Add the trotters and simmer till it is soft and tender.