Braised Pig's Trotters - the Easy Way with Slow cooker

My son insisted that I must add this to my blog so that his wife knows how to cook this....so this is how it goes.  Occasionally when I go to the wet market, or when they crave for it, I will cook it for them.  I also like this dish because it is very easy to cook using the slow cooker, you literally throw in everything and let it simmer.  So occasionally I will cook over the night for lunch.  The way that it is prepared here requires no extra oil-you will get it from the trotters itself.  It is not the traditional method, but it tastes just as good (my husband says that he can't tell the difference between this and the famous stall that we usually patronise at Ang Mo Kio, so I guess it is true.  The sauce itself can be boiled and stored overnight, and you can add in hard-boil eggs, beancurd, even chicken wings for a second meal!  If you like, you can also add in intestines - my mum used to put in pig's tongues and lungs as well - though lungs are no longer available in Singapore.

In traditional Chinese family, the sauce boiled and kept in a pot sealed with wax paper after use and kept in a cool dry place (there were no refrigeration then) to reserve for the next use.  When there is insufficient sauce, a new batch is cooked up and added to the old sauce.  So essentially, the sauce can be hundreds of years and it gets passed down generations after generations.  Flavors of the previous braised meats enhances the sauce and adds to the complexity.  So here is the recipe.

Serving Size : 4 - 6
Preparation Time (not including cooking and soaking of mushrooms) : 10 - 15 min
Cooking Time:  About 6 hours on Auto for the slow cooker.

Ingredients:

6 - 10 Dried Shitake Mushroom.  You can soak it in water in the fridge overnight / or whole day - when I know I am cooking this dish in the evening.  Or you can soak in hot boiling water for an hour to soften.  You cannot substitute with fresh shitake as it does not taste right. Wash the mushroom first before soaking so that you can reserve the water which the Japanese says it is full of "unami".   Snip off the stalks after it has soften.  You can add the stalk and liquid to the braise to enhance the flavour.  I don't usually eat the stalks.

1 -2  Whole Pig Trotter  :  I usually get this at the wet markets, but occasionally I also get it at the supermarkets.  Get the butcher to chop up into big chunks for you, it will tend to shrink after it cooks.  I don't usually use up the trotter.  I keep some of the bony parts without any meat and reserve it to make peanut or black bean soup on another occasion.  I usually use the front trotters as they have less fat, but they also have less meat.  So when I use it, I need about 2, as my family favours the lean parts more than the skin.

1 packet of Bak Kut Teh Mix.   I confess, this is the part which I cheat on.  My mother used to go to the Chinese medicinal hall to get the shop keeper to do the mix, while my mother-in-law has her own mix of star anise, cinnamon bark and cloves.  This is key that distinguishes flavor between one family to another.  For me, I need something foolproof so I use the bak kut teh mix which you can get from the supermarket. 

Note that there are two types of mix, the peppery ones and the herbal ones, stick to the herbal ones.  You can use any brand, I use Eu Yan Sang as they come in sealed packs and can be kept for a long time.  (I have a friend who always gets a few boxes at the Airport to bring abroad when she comes back to visit in Singapore. A box contains 12 pkts.)

2 -3 clusters of garlic.  You must add this if you want an authetic taste.  Don't worry, it loses its sharpness after braising.  Wash the garlic and crush them slightly with a back of a cleaver or mallet. (Leave the skin so that the garlic will not break up too much when cooking. Crushing allows the garlic flavour to infuse the braise.)

8 tbsps of Dark Soya Sauce.  Less if you like your trotters a little lighter, more if you like it darker.  I favour the dark soya sauce with red dates, as it is really thick and not so salty.  Furthermore, the red dates add sweet taste to it.  With this there is no need to fry the caramel or add sugar which some of the traditional recipes ask for. 

Water to Cover Pot.  Sea Salt about 1 teaspoon.

Procedure:

  Boil a kettle of water.  Blanch the pig's trotters in the boiling water to remove the blood on the surface, which will leave scum when you braise. Soak it in the hot water for a short while, meantime you can assemble the pot.

Layer in the softened shitake mushroom, crushed garlic and herb bag.

Put in the trotters.  Put the trotters on top of the above mixture, prevents the herb bag, the garlic and mushroom from floating around.  Drizzle in the soya sauce.  (Some people prefer to drizzle and coat the trotters with the sauce before putting in....it doesn't quite matter for me.)

Add in sufficient water (if you want it to be faster, hot water) to cover the trotters.  Put on the lid, turn the setting to "Auto" .  And braise until the trotters soften (till the meat detaches easily from the bone). Add sea salt to taste and mix well burning turning off the braise. And it is ready for serving.

Comments: 

• 
  
  You can do the same in a pot (preferably claypot), set it to a boil then a simmer till the bone detaches.
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  I do this for my lunch at work the next day, so I usually set this around 9 pm and it is ready by 5 am in the morning when I wake up. 
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  If cooking for dinner on weekends, I do this at in the morning around 11 am and it should be ready for dinner in the evening.
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  Remember to reserve the stew the next day, you can boil the mixture and add in hard-boiled eggs, beancurd, beanskin, intestines, or chicken wings for a second meal.