「Braised Pork Hock with Trotter」

Ingredients and amounts

• 1 pork front hock with foot and claw (about 1250g)
• 1 piece (10g) fermented red bean curd
• 150g sweet bean paste
• 15g salt
• 35g dark soy sauce
• 25g light soy sauce
• 25g cooking wine
• 50g sliced garlic
• 10g minced ginger
• 3 star anise
• 5g cinnamon stick
• 200g scallions

Step-by-step method

1. 1

   Step 1

   Scrub the pork hock clean. Place it on a cutting board with the hock end facing outward, the trotter end facing inward, and the skin side down.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Using a knife, cut open the skin along the leg bone from the hock end to the trotter end. Remove the meat from both sides of the leg bone, leaving the bone attached at the bottom so it is exposed. Then use a cleaver to break the two leg bones in the middle.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Boil the hock in a pot until 70% cooked (the outside should look normal, the inside light pink). Remove, pat dry with a clean cloth, and while still hot, brush the skin with dark soy sauce.

4. 4

   Step 4

   Place star anise and cinnamon stick in the bottom of a steamer pot. Break the trotter joint by hand without damaging the skin. Place the hock skin-side down into the steamer, curling the trotter against the edge of the pot to form a round shape.

5. 5

   Step 5

   Sprinkle with salt. Cover the meat with a clean, sterilized cloth. Spread 50g sweet bean paste, 75g scallions, fermented red bean curd, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, ginger, and garlic over the cloth. Steam over high heat for about 3 hours until very tender.

6. 6

   Step 6

   Remove from the steamer, discard the cloth, and invert the hock onto a serving plate. Remove the star anise. Serve with additional scallion segments and a small dish of sweet bean paste on the side, or spread the sweet bean paste over the hock and serve with scallion segments.