Pig's trotters and ginger in sweet black vinegar
The Hong Kong confinement classic: dry-fried mature ginger and pig's trotters slowly simmered in sweet black vinegar until meltingly tender — tangy, sweet, warming and good for the circulation.
- 3 hr
- Serves 4
- Simmer
- Medium
Why it suits you: Blood-stasis types have sluggish circulation and a dull complexion and are prone to bruising or period pain, and Bailu's cooler mornings and evenings make the blood more sluggish still. Sweet vinegar disperses stagnant blood, mature ginger warms the channels, pig's trotters nourish blood and skin, and eggs nourish yin. Slow-simmered until tender, it's tangy, warming and just right as autumn cools.
Method
Prep 30 min · Cook 150 min- 1Scrub the ginger without peeling, smash and cut into large chunks, then dry-fry in a wok over a low heat for about 10 minutes until dry and lightly charred.
- 2Scrape any hairs off the trotter, put it in a pan of cold water with the wine, bring to the boil and blanch for 10 minutes, then rinse and drain.
- 3Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, cool under running water and peel.
- 4Put the sweet vinegar and ginger in a clay pot, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the trotter and red vinegar, cover and simmer for 1½ hours until tender.
- 5Add the eggs and simmer for 15 minutes more. Leave to steep overnight for the best flavour and reheat the next day.
Cautions
- Trotters are high in fat and cholesterol, so a small portion is enough; go easy with excess stomach acid or ulcers, and skip it with a sore throat or fever.
Chef's tips
- Cook vinegar in a clay pot rather than an iron wok or aluminium pan; leaving it to steep overnight and reheating the next day gives the best flavour.
The TCM view
Vinegar is sour, bitter and warm, entering the liver and stomach, dispersing stasis and stopping bleeding — the Bencao Gangmu says it 'disperses stagnant blood'. Ginger is pungent and warm, warming the middle and freeing the channels; pig's trotters are sweet, salty and neutral, nourishing blood and the skin — the Suixiju Yinshi Pu says they 'enrich the stomach's fluids and smooth the skin'; eggs nourish yin and blood.
