Pig's Trotters and Ginger Vinegar Stew (豬腳薑)

Instructions

Hard boil the eggs, cool them under cold water and set them aside. Wash, peel and thickly slice the ginger, then bruise the slices with the flat of a knife.

Fry the ginger in oil with salt over high heat for about 5 minutes, then set it aside.

Remove the hair from the trotters by singeing them over an open flame, a chef's blowtorch or carefully over a gas hob, then scrape the skin clean with a knife.

Blanch the trotters in a pan of boiling water until the skin has tightened and the outside has changed colour. Cool them under cold water and leave them to drain.

When the trotters are mostly dry, blot them with a clean cloth. Cut them across the joints first, then lengthwise.

Rub the trotters well with salt. Brown them in their own fat in a hot frying pan or wok.

Put the ginger and trotters into a tall glazed earthenware pot and pour in enough sweet black vinegar to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Peel the eggs, add them to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes more. Take the pot off the heat.

Leave the stew for a day, warming it gently now and then, bringing it to a simmer and letting it cool again. Traditionally this is done three times over the day, and the stew sets to a jelly when it is ready.

Reheat to serve, using non-metal utensils. Eat it over two to three days, adding more boiled eggs as they are used up.