Vinegar Pig Trotter - Recipe Refinement

[jhirshon]

All - I found this wonderful set of guidelines for making Vinegar Pig trotter - anyone care to clarify the Chinese characters for some of the ingredients (Chinese black sugar, old ginger, etc.) and finalize exact proportions? Knowing the pinyin for the recipe name would be nice too.

If I am not mistaken, I believe this is a variant of the classic post-partum dish given to new mothers (minus the eggs)?

sze sze, JH

<snip>

I called my aunt again today...she's been quite busy.

But anyway,she said that since you're a chef,you can roughly figure out the quantities...

She does not use rock sugar,but rather,chinese black sugar for a stronger flavour. About 250g

And you need loads of old ginger...like about 1/2 kg for every pig's trotter.

She adds quite a bit of sesame oil too.

And you need to heat the sesame oil in a pot,with some cooking oil and fry ginger till browned.

Add in sugar,continue frying till slightly caramelised,then add in about 2 cups for every trotter,of Chin Kiang black vinegar.

Let it reduce a bit,then add trotters and water.

Simmer for about 1 hour till soft, top up water occasionally if need be. You need the vinegar and ginger for that kick, so don't gasp at the quantities...

Hope this helps.

[hzrt8w]

She does not use rock sugar,but rather,chinese black sugar for a stronger flavour. About 250g

And you need loads of old ginger...like about 1/2 kg for every pig's trotter.

She adds quite a bit of sesame oil too.

And you need to heat the sesame oil in a pot,with some cooking oil and fry ginger till browned.

Add in sugar,continue frying till slightly caramelised,then add in about 2 cups for every trotter,of Chin Kiang black vinegar.

Let it reduce a bit,then add trotters and water.

Simmer for about 1 hour till soft, top up water occasionally if need be. You need the vinegar and ginger for that kick, so don't gasp at the quantities...

Hope this helps.

←

I don't know what Chinese black sugar is. Maybe something is lost in translation?

Old ginger is just the ginger that is getting... old? (Opposite to the young, spouting ginger) When you cut up a piece of ginger, you feel the grain, and you see fibers at the edge, the color of the cross section is a darker shade of yellow instead of bright yellow, that is old ginger. From the outside, feel the skin. Old ginger skin is much rougher, instead of smooth. Color: darker brown instead of pale brown or dark yellow.

You probably would be looking at using some vinegar like this:

Chinese Black Vinegar (Koon Chun)

[CFT]

Some people add whole shelled boiled eggs to the mix.

Never heard of black sugar before. Maybe it's just some sort of rock sugar?

[peony]

this dish is a confinement food for ladies who have given birth, but of course, can be eaten whenever the whim arise

black sugar can be replaced by brown sugar....black sugar as the name suggest, is really black.

Here's the recipe from a book " Confinement Food "

1 pig's trotter - abt 1 kg.

1 kg old ginger, skinned and smashed lightly

4 tbsp sesame oil

800 ml black vinegar

1.5 litres water

300 g - 400 g brown sugar ( adjust sweetness to your liking )

hardboiled eggs - optional

Method ;

Clean and pluck hair of trotters. Cut into big chunks. Blanch trotters, drain.

Heat sesame oil and fry ginger till fragrant.

Dish out ginger and put into a clay pot. Add vinegar, water and brown sugar.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 - 30 mins or till ginger is soft.

Add pig's trotter pieces and continue to simmer till meat is tender, about 2 hours.

Add hardboiled eggs half an hour before serving.

Chinese believe black vinegar purifies the blood.

old ginger drives out wind from the body

brown / black sugar checks the dampness in the body.

Notes : original recipe use 2 pig's trotters. 1/2 cup of sesame oil and 600 g sugar.

Edited October 20, 2006 by peony (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

We have this same recipe in the Philippines, only we call it Pata Tim. And yes, it's of Chinese origin and yes, it also comes with the hardboiled eggs. Great over hot, steamed rice!

[Kent Wang]

Old ginger is just the ginger that is getting... old?  (Opposite to the young, spouting ginger)  When you cut up a piece of ginger, you feel the grain, and you see fibers at the edge, the color of the cross section is a darker shade of yellow instead of bright yellow, that is old ginger.  From the outside, feel the skin.  Old ginger skin is much rougher, instead of smooth.  Color: darker brown instead of pale brown or dark yellow.

←

In my family we've always used the terms lao jiang (literally: old ginger) and jiang (ginger) interchangeably. In Chinese, it is preferable for nouns to have two characters instead of one; I think this is just a case of that, and so it is just a quirk of the language as opposed to any actual difference in the age of the ginger in question.

[hzrt8w]

In my family we've always used the terms lao jiang (literally: old ginger) and jiang (ginger) interchangeably. In Chinese, it is preferable for nouns to have two characters instead of one; I think this is just a case of that, and so it is just a quirk of the language as opposed to any actual difference in the age of the ginger in question.

←

It is true generally. Lao [Mandarin], which literally means "old", is used as an adjective before a noun as a meaningless adjective but a space filler.

But in this recipe it does call for older ginger.

[jhirshon]

this dish is a confinement food for ladies who have given birth, but of course, can be eaten whenever the whim arise 

black sugar can be replaced by brown sugar....black sugar as the name suggest, is really black.

Here's the recipe from a book " Confinement Food "

1 pig's trotter - abt 1 kg.

1 kg old ginger, skinned and smashed lightly

4 tbsp sesame oil

800 ml black vinegar

1.5 litres water

300 g - 400 g brown sugar ( adjust sweetness to your liking )

hardboiled eggs - optional

Method ;

Clean and pluck hair of trotters. Cut into big chunks. Blanch trotters, drain.

Heat sesame oil and fry ginger till fragrant.

Dish out ginger and put into a clay pot. Add vinegar, water and brown sugar.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 - 30 mins or till ginger is soft.

Add pig's trotter pieces and continue to simmer till meat is tender, about 2 hours.

Add hardboiled eggs half an hour before serving.

Chinese believe black vinegar purifies the blood.

old ginger drives out wind from the body

brown / black sugar checks the dampness in the body.

Notes : original recipe use 2 pig's trotters. 1/2 cup of sesame oil and 600 g sugar.

←

Peony, this looks like a great recipe, thank you!

Do you know the pinyin (and English transliteration) for Chinese Black Sugar, perchance - it seems to be a most unusual ingredient and I would like to try the recipe with it. Also, did you develop the modified recipe with less sesame oil and more sugar?

Also, I seem to remember that other recipes I've seen for this post-partum stew called for hard-boiled eggs as well, but in-shell (to allow the calcium to leach from the shells into the stew) - is that your experience here as well?

If so, I'd crack the shells lightly all-around to get the marbled effect (similar to tea eggs) on the shelled eggs - seems like a nice visual, as well as adding additional flavour to the egg...

Thanks again, eGullet is truly all-knowing.

Edited October 20, 2006 by jhirshon (log)

[Tepee]

For ginger, we have a variety grown in the M'sian town of Bentong; it has a neat bite and is fibreless...really delicious in jue geok cho...you can eat it completely.

Make lots! Keep in a clay pot to eat over a few days and savour the flavour which develops as the dish is reheated every day and gets thickened.

[peony]

Peony, this looks like a great recipe, thank you!

Do you know the pinyin (and English transliteration) for Chinese Black Sugar, perchance - it seems to be a most unusual ingredient and I would like to try the recipe with it.  Also, did you develop the modified recipe with less sesame oil and more sugar?

Also, I seem to remember that other recipes I've seen for this post-partum stew called for hard-boiled eggs as well, but in-shell (to allow the calcium to leach from the shells into the stew) - is that your experience here as well? 

If so, I'd crack the shells lightly all-around to get the marbled effect (similar to tea eggs) on the shelled eggs - seems like a nice visual, as well as adding additional flavour to the egg...

Thanks again, eGullet is truly all-knowing.

←

sugar is sugar to me, so at times I use white sugar

I'm sorry that can't help you with Chinese language as I can only read n write English

I used peeled hardboiled eggs.....actually I use less sugar than the original recipe..

to be honest, there is already too much oil, that's the reason I cut down the oil content...I cooked a day before my family eat this so that I can cool n put in the fridge, take out to remove the layer of fat before warming up to eat

not very Chinese of me...

[Tepee]

Black sugar? Frankly, I've never heard it before. Perhaps, it's so dark, they call it black? Here's a picture of gula melaka or coconut palm sugar which I use in Vinegared Pig Trotters. You may use rock sugar, which, although it does not have that extra complexity, it gives a smooth mouth feel.

BTW, Peony, where are you situated?

About the eggs...although it's visually more interesting cracked, I think the eggs would be more tasty nekkid.

Edited October 21, 2006 by Tepee (log)

[peony]

I am from Singapore.....

I have seen black sugar sold in a Chinese emporium ... It could be some form of very dark,brown sugar. The name in the packet is ' hei tang ' - black sugar .

My mum or those that I know didn't use gula melaka for this pig's trotter with black vinegar stew. The confinement lady for my daughter used brown sugar.

Edited October 21, 2006 by peony (log)

[jhirshon]

All - MANY thanks to everyone, especially Peony for helping to clarify the proportions and ingredients in this recipe.

I've created my own version of this, closely based on Peony's, that includes a famous Chinese herbal tonic (especially suitable for women, as this *is* a post-partum stew - plus it adds a good flavour as well) and hard-boiled eggs in the shell, as I seem to recall this is also important for new mothers, to enable the calcium from the shells to leach into the stew. Plus, my use of the 'marbled egg' effect is unique, at least as far as I can determine.

Enjoy, JH

________________

The Hirshon Ginger, Sugar & Vinegar Pig Trotter Stew

1 pig's trotter - between 2.5 and 2.75 pounds

Between 2.5 and 2.75 pounds old ginger (yes, you read that right), skinned, cut into pieces and smashed lightly (JH note - old ginger is exactly that, the typical stuff you get in the supermarket, do NOT use actual OLD ginger, this is just a Chinese term to differentiate it from 'young' ginger, which is harvested early)

4 tbsp sesame oil (JH note - I like Kadoya)

Slightly more than 3 1/3 cups Chinese black vinegar (JH note - do NOT use Sweetened Black Vinegar in this recipe!)

6 1/3 cups bottled water

Slightly more than 1 1/4 -1 2/3 cups brown sugar (adjust sweetness to your liking) (JH note - if you can find it, use Chinese black sugar, called 'Hei Tang')

hardboiled eggs in shell, to taste

Tang Kuei Gin Syrup - 2 tablespoons - One of the great Chinese tonic herb formulas for women - see http://www.qualitychineseherbs.com/herbal_...ts/dang_gui.htm Tang Kuei Gin syrup may be purchased here: http://www.eastearthtrade.com/catalog.php?...820&product=505 - NOTE: This ingredient is NOT in the classic recipe

Clean and pluck hair of trotters (if there are any). Cut into big chunks. Blanch trotters, drain.

Heat sesame oil and fry ginger till fragrant.

Add ginger and oil and put into a clay pot. Add vinegar, water and brown sugar.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 - 30 mins or until ginger is soft.

Add pig's trotter pieces and continue to simmer till meat is tender, about 2 hours.

Add hardboiled eggs and Tang Kuei Gin half an hour before serving - crack the shells all over lightly but completely to enable the marbled effect when peeled (note - this is a JH affectation, and not in the original recipe).

This should be served to the new mother for 1 month - repeat the recipe as needed and add to the leftovers (important - there should always be some leftover added to the new batch of stew) and reheat, as it gets more and more nutritious over the 30 days (as well as delicious).

Chinese believe black vinegar purifies the blood

old ginger drives out wind from the body

brown / black sugar checks the dampness in the body

Eggs and shell add needed calcium to the stew, to aid the mother in nursing

Tang Kuei Gin is a superb herbal tonic, specifically for women

[liuzhou]

Black Sugar 黑糖 (hei tang)