Red Braised Pig Trotter is a “beauty” food in Chinese cuisine, made by braising or slow cooking in a rich and savory sauce. This comfort food is loaded with collagen and is considered the tastiest part of pork.
It tastes the same as other cuts of pork, but it is velvety and smooth in texture. It may be a strange and intimidating dish, but it can be a delightful experience once you try it.
- What Is Red Braised Pig Trotter?
- Is Red Braised Pig Trotter Unhealthy?
- Guidelines For Making Red Braised Pig Trotter
- Storing And Reheating Method Of Red Braised Pig Trotter
- Prepare These Items To Make Red Braised Pig Trotter
- Instructions On How To Make Red Braised Pig Trotter
What Is Red Braised Pig Trotter
Red braised pig trotter is basically pig feet from the ankle down. It is well known that trotters are fatty cuts, mostly thick skin, tendons, connective tissues, and hardly any meat.
The meat needs to be cooked properly by braising or slow cooking in a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or skillet, to name a few.
It should be tender, firm, and juicy to eat. If not cooked well, it will be chewy and hard to bite. In this recipe, it is cooked by red braising, also known as red cooking.
Red braising is done by slow cooking the meat with cooking wine, sugar, and soy sauce to get its reddish-brown color. It is full of flavor thanks to the slow cooking method that helps absorb the sauce thoroughly.
However, it is important to take your time when cooking this dish as rushing it will give you chewy pork trotters since the thick skin and tough tissues take time to cook.
Is Red Braised Pig Trotter Unhealthy?
Pig trotters are highly collagenous, contributing to healthy skin, joint pain relief, and muscle strength.
A piece of pork trotter is about 87g per serving, which contains 207 calories, 14g of fat, 64mg of sodium, and 19g of protein.
It may be high in protein but poses a potential health risk because of its high fat and cholesterol content.
For every 4oz or 113g of pork trotters, you consume 99mg of cholesterol already.
You should know there are also potential risks to eating pig trotters, especially for pregnant women. Pregnant women may get toxoplasmosis (parasite found in soil) and listeriosis (bacteria found in undercooked meat).
Plus, it is important to consume this in moderation since pig feet may release potentially toxic levels of heavy metals like chromium and lead.
Guidelines For Making Red Braised Pig Trotter
Here are some tips and guidelines to help you make red braised pig trotters that taste better with quality texture.
These guidelines are all about ingredients that you can substitute and proper cooking techniques. Read these guidelines before starting.
- This recipe requires the tedious removal of pig hair. You need to make sure all strands of hair are removed, or else it will be unappetizing to eat. At the meat shop, the butcher may be able to remove it for you to lessen the work and time needed in the recipe.
- Another essential step in preparing pork trotters is putting them in COLD water first before turning on the heat. This allows the removal of unpleasant odors and dirt. When you boil it initially, you will see froth floating, which is the impurities of the meat. You can scoop out the froth as you boil the pig trotters.
- It is not ideal to add salt at the beginning of braising since this can cause it to have a chewy consistency. Generally, this recipe does not use salt since the soy sauce and meat are salty already.
- If you do not have pig feet, you can use pig shoulder as a substitute. It is a versatile cut that is also slow cooked.
- It takes time to cook red braised pig trotters since you want to achieve tender meat. If you want to cook it faster, you can cook it first with a pressure cooker and wait until it is almost tender. For the remaining time, you can continue braising it with a slow cooker or stovetop until it is fully tender and soft.
- Cooking wine is great for enhancing the flavor when blanching. Alternatively, you can substitute this with beer. This recipe uses beer when slow cooking the meat. However, beer is an optional ingredient.
- Another essential ingredient for this dish is star anise. It is a common Chinese ingredient that adds a sweet-licorice-peppery flavor to the savory pork trotters.
- Use light and dark soy sauce. This combination gives you just the right amount of saltiness while achieving its deep red color with the dark soy sauce.
- Although any type of oil is good for frying, it is best to use canola, sunflower, or vegetable oil. These have high smoke points that fry the pork trotters better.
- If you don’t have fresh ginger or garlic, you can substitute them with garlic powder and ginger powder.
- Rock sugar sweetens the dish and produces better results than granulated sugar. If you don’t have rock sugar, you can substitute it with regular or brown sugar.
- Red braised pork trotter is enjoyed on its own or with a bowl of rice. It also pairs well with other main and side dishes, such as fried porridge, salads, and potatoes.
Storing And Reheating Method Of Red Braised Pig Trotter
Pork trotters should be well-wrapped or vacuum-sealed to make them last for up to 3 days in the fridge or up to a few months in the freezer.
After cooking pork trotters, store them in a sealed container to maintain quality and prevent contamination from other foods in the fridge. You can store red braised pork trotters in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you have leftovers, you can reheat them for the next time using a microwave or a skillet.
To reheat it with a skillet, reheat it on low heat and bring to a boil. You can add a bit of water and adjust to taste if the sauce has dried out.
Prepare These Items To Make Red Braised Pig Trotter
Generally, all you need is a pot and lid to cook and fry the pork trotters. If you want to cook it faster, you can also use a pressure cooker at the beginning of cooking the meat.
It is easy to do this recipe but may take time to prepare since it uses several chopped vegetables and spices.
All ingredients are your typical pantry items. The ingredients that might be uncommon in your kitchen are cinnamon, cooking wine, star anise, and soybean sauce. If you want this dish to have less alcohol, you can opt to omit the beer.
Here’s a list of everything you need to make red braised pig trotters.
Kitchenware
- Pot for boiling
- Pan for frying
- Spatula for stirring
- Pot and pan cover
Ingredients
Blanching The Pork Trotters
- 1000g pig trotter
- 1 bunch scallion
- 1 inch ginger
- A drizzle of cooking wine
Cooking The Pork Trotters
- Oil for frying
- 2 tbsp ginger
- 2 tbsp garlic
- 15 pieces dried chili (adjust according to liking)
- 1 to 2 pieces of cinnamon sticks
- 4 fragrant leaves or bay leaves
- 3 to 5 pieces star anise
- 1 tbsp rock sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soybean sauce
- 250ml beer (optional)
- 250ml hot water
- 2 tbsp red pepper
- 2 tbsp green pepper
- A handful of garlic sprouts
Instructions On How To Make Red Braised Pig Trotter
Chop your ingredients and prepare your cooking pot to get started. This recipe requires blanching the pork trotters to remove impurities and frying the pork trotters with its savory sauce.
Here is a step-by-step guide to making the juiciest and most tender red braised pig trotters.
Blanch The Pork Trotters
Clean 1000g pig trotters carefully and remove dirt and hair.
Cut the pork trotters into smaller chunks. Prepare for blanching. Put the pork trotters in a cooking pot with COLD water.
Add 1 bunch of scallions, 1 inch ginger, and a drizzle of cooking wine to the pot and bring to a boil.
Boil for at least 2 to 3 minutes to remove dirt and odor and allow the impurities to froth. After boiling for a few minutes, remove the pig trotters and drain the water.
Clean it again by using WARM water. Do not use cold water in this last step. Using warm water for cleaning is a key tip in this recipe.
Fry The Pork Trotters
Prepare the frying pan with cooking oil. Heat the pan and wait until the oil is hot enough for frying. When the oil is hot, carefully place the pork trotters into the pan.
Fry the pork trotters evenly for about 5 minutes or until it becomes light brown.
Then, add 2 tbsp ginger, 2 tbsp garlic, 15 pieces dried chili, 1 to 2 pieces of cinnamon sticks, 4 fragrant leaves or bay leaves, 3 to 5 pieces star anise, 1 tbsp rock sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, and 1 tbsp soybean sauce.
Next, pour 250ml beer and 250ml hot water. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on low heat for 50 minutes.
Then, add the 2 tbsp red pepper, 2 tbsp green pepper, and a handful of garlic sprouts.
Mix continuously on high heat until the meat absorbs the sauce and the sauce dries out a bit. Serve hot with rice or your favorite Chinese side dish.
Red Braised Pig Trotter
Equipment
- Pot for boiling
- Pan for frying
- Spatula for stirring
- Pot and pan cover
Ingredients
Blanching The Pork Trotters
- 1000 g pig trotter
- 1 bunch scallion
- 1 inch ginger
- A drizzle of cooking wine
Cooking The Pork Trotters
- Oil for frying
- 2 tbsp ginger
- 2 tbsp garlic
- 15 pieces dried chili adjust according to liking
- 1 to 2 pieces of cinnamon sticks
- 4 fragrant leaves or bay leaves
- 3 to 5 pieces star anise
- 1 tbsp rock sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soybean sauce
- 250 ml beer optional
- 250 ml hot water
- 2 tbsp red pepper
- 2 tbsp green pepper
- A handful of garlic sprouts
Instructions
Blanch The Pork Trotters
- Clean 1000g pig trotters carefully and remove dirt and hair.
- Cut the pork trotters into smaller chunks.
- Prepare for blanching. Put the pork trotters in a cooking pot with COLD water.
- Add 1 bunch of scallions, 1 inch ginger, and a drizzle of cooking wine to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Boil for at least 2 to 3 minutes to remove dirt and odor and allow the impurities to froth.
- After boiling for a few minutes, remove the pig trotters and drain the water.
- Clean it again by using WARM water. Do not use cold water in this last step. Using warm water for cleaning is a key tip in this recipe.
Fry The Pork Trotters
- Prepare the frying pan with cooking oil.
- Heat the pan and wait until the oil is hot enough for frying.
- When the oil is hot, carefully place the pork trotters into the pan.
- Fry the pork trotters evenly for about 5 minutes or until it becomes light brown.
- Then, add 2 tbsp ginger, 2 tbsp garlic, 15 pieces dried chili, 1 to 2 pieces of cinnamon sticks, 4 fragrant leaves or bay leaves, 3 to 5 pieces star anise, 1 tbsp rock sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, and 1 tbsp soybean sauce.
- Next, pour 250ml beer and 250ml hot water.
- Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on low heat for 50 minutes.
- Then, add the 2 tbsp red pepper, 2 tbsp green pepper, and a handful of garlic sprouts.
- Mix continuously on high heat until the meat absorbs the sauce and the sauce dries out a bit.
- Serve hot with rice or your favorite Chinese side dish.
