THERMAL COOKER-BRAISED PORK TROTTER, YAM IN SPICY FRAGRANT SAUCE

This recipe looks complicated with numerous ingredients but if you are used to braising pork, it is not that difficult as most ingredients are easily available in one’s kitchen.

It was the picture of this dish in the recipe book that attracted my attention.  I love to eat the nice soy sauce coloured  QQ [chewy] trotter skin pieces.  The aroma is awesome.  Moreover this dish has the soft, sticky yam pieces that match so well with the other ingredients and sauce.

This dish is good serve with hot plain porridge or rice.  There was a  typo error in the article and some seasoning ingredients have been omitted here.

Recipe from Amy Beh adapted from Feminine Magazine No. 584 with modifications

Ingredients

750 gm boneless meaty pork trotter  - chopped into pieces

Marinade – 1 tbsp light soy sauce, ½ tsp each pepper and salt

350 gm yam – cut into pieces and pan fried/deep fried

2 piece firm beancurd – quartered and pan fried/deep fried

5-6 dried mushrooms – soaked [optional]

2 tbsp sesame oil

Aromatics

1 piece cinnamon stick, 3 bay leaves, 2 star anise, 4 dried chillies, 4 cloves garlic, 40 gm ginger – sliced,

2 pieces Dong Quai, 2 stalks spring onion – white part only

Sauce Ingredients

50 ml light soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 35 gm rock sugar, dash of msg, 700 ml water, adequate salt to taste

Thickening - 1 tbsp potato starch + 2 tbsp water

1. Blanch trotter pieces in boiling water for a minute.  Rinse clean and drain. Season pork trotters with marinade for several hours.
2. Pan fry or deep fry yam pieces and firm beancurd until golden brown.  Dish up and set aside.
3. Heat sesame oil in a heavy base thermal cooker pot, sauté aromatics until fragrant.
4. Put in the mushrooms, trotter pieces, stir fry to combine well, add in seasoning ingredients.  Leave to braise for several minutes before adding the water.
5. Bring to boil, then low heat to simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in the yam  and beancurd pieces.  Mix well.
6. Bring to boil, then transfer to the outer pot. Cover and leave to continue cooking in the pot for an hour or until meat pieces are tender and chewy.
7. Remove pot from outer pot, bring to boil and thicken with thickening.
8. Serve in claypot with salad leaves.