How to make delicious and attractive braised pork trotters in the style of wild boar stew.

(VTC News) - Hurry up and try this recipe to make a delicious pot of braised pork trotters in the style of "fake dog meat" stew.

(VTC News) - Hurry up and try this recipe to make a delicious pot of braised pork trotters in the style of "fake dog meat" stew.

"Pork leg stewed in the style of wild boar stew" is a favorite dish of many Vietnamese men.

Ingredients:

- 0.5kg pork trotters

- 0.5kg pork leg (boneless)

- 1 galangal root (30-40 grams)

- 1 lemongrass stalk

- 30ml or 2 tablespoons of fermented rice water (or substitute with

   plain yogurt)

- 2 tablespoons (20-25ml) of fish sauce

- 2.5 full teaspoons of shrimp paste

- ½ teaspoon of sugar

- ½ tablespoon (7-8ml) of rice vinegar (or substitute)

   (using wine vinegar)

- 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder (or one fresh turmeric root)

- Pepper, chili (to taste)

- Rice noodles and various herbs as accompaniments + perilla leaves

How to cook imitation pork sausage with straw-roasted pork trotters:

Grilled pork leg

- This is perhaps the most important step in making imitation dog meat. Because if you want the "imitation dog meat" to look like real dog meat, the skin must be grilled until it's crispy enough. This ensures that after cooking, the skin remains crispy (like real dog meat) and doesn't become soft like braised pork skin.

That's the theory, but the practice and the results depend on the cook's skill. The most delicious way is to roast the pork leg over straw, but that's probably difficult to do. So a more common alternative is to wrap several layers of white paper (don't use newspaper, because the ink is very toxic) around the pork leg and burn it until the skin is hard and turns golden brown.

- If there's nowhere to burn the fire, you can grill it directly on an electric or gas stove. 

Alternatively, a cleaner and more efficient method is to use a kitchen torch (the kind used to caramelize sugar on Crème Brulee) to char the skin of the pork knuckle. Or, if you have a charcoal grill or BBQ grill, you can use that too. The important thing is to ensure the meat inside doesn't cook through, only the skin gets charred and fragrant.

After grilling, scrape off the burnt layer, rub salt evenly on the outside, and rinse thoroughly with water several times. Chop the pork trotters and slice the meat into bite-sized pieces.

Finely chop or grind galangal and lemongrass (if using fresh turmeric, grind it together). Marinate the pork trotters with all the spices listed in the Ingredients section for at least 1 hour to allow the meat time to absorb the flavors. The quantities of each ingredient can be adjusted according to your family's taste.

Note that the spices used in making giả cầy (a Vietnamese dish) are all strong-flavored, so the most important thing is to balance them, ensuring that no single spice is used excessively, as it will overpower the others.

Heat a little cooking oil over high heat, stir-fry the meat until slightly browned, then pour in enough boiling water to cover the meat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is tender but not mushy, and the pork leg and skin are crispy.

Thu Nguyễn (Synthetic)