Red-braised Pig Feet

750g pig feet， chopped into cubes 豬蹄 zh$t!

1 tbsp of rice wine (for parboiling) 黃酒 hu1ngji^

1.5 tbsp cooking corn oil 玉米油 ym@y5u

1 tsp dark soy sauce 醬油 ji3ngy5u

Salt to taste 鹽 y1n

2 slices of ginger (for parboiling) 姜 ji`ng

1

Have the butcher chop up the pigs’feet into cubes. Rinse the meat and set aside. Then heat a pot of water to a rolling boil and add the meat， followed by the rice wine and ginger. Cook for five minutes， then turn off the heat.

2

Skim the scum off the top of the water， then discard the water and ginger. Rinse the trotters clean with hot water. Next， heat the cooking oil in a wok. when hot， add the rock sugar and stir over a low flame until the sugar has melted.

3

Add the pigs’ feet and stirfry on a low flame， moving continually until they turn a rich， golden color， about five minutes total. Make sure to keep an eye on your pan， both before and after adding the trotters， as it’s easy to burn the sugar and blacken the pigs’ feet!

4

Add the caoguo， star anise， ginger， cinnamon scallions， soy sauce， and dry red chilies and stirfry for another three to four minutes. when all the ingredients are nicely mixed， add enough water to cover the trotters and bring to the boil. Once the water is bubbling， transfer the entire contents of your wok to a high-pressure cooker so that it stays on a rolling boil.

5

After boiling for 45 minutes， transfer everything back to the wok and continue simmering on a medium flame until the trotters absorb all the water and sauce. Garnish with garlic leaves and salt to taste， then mix evenly. Serve immediately.