AI-generated image
Zhu jiao jiang
豬腳薑 (zhu jiao jiang): Hong Kong pork trotters, eggs and ginger in sweet black vinegar
Zhu jiao jiang is the Cantonese confinement dish that Hong Kong families cook in a big clay pot after a baby arrives, offering a bowl to visiting friends to share the good news; many also make it in winter simply because it is delicious. Pork trotters, hard-boiled eggs and a great deal of old ginger stew slowly in sweet black rice vinegar until the trotters are sticky and tender and the eggs turn dark and tangy. The usual mistake is skipping the trotters' blanch: they must be boiled first and rinsed to clean them. Chef's tip: dry-fry the ginger in the pot before the oil goes in, so it loses some moisture and keeps its bite through the long stew; the pot tastes best after resting overnight.
- Total time
- 195 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 ⅛ lb old gingerpeeled, cut in 3 cm chunks and lightly smashed
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 ¼ cups sweet black rice vinegar
- ¾ cup black rice vinegar
- 1 oz brown slab sugar or dark brown sugar (optional)to taste
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Boil the 6 eggs in your pot for 10 minutes, cool in cold water, peel and set aside.
15 minStep 2: Put the 2 ¼ lb pork trotters, cut into pieces by the butcher in the same pot, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse the pieces and scrape off any hairs. Dry the pot.
15 minStep 3: Put the 1 ⅛ lb old ginger in the dry pot over a medium heat and stir for 5 minutes until its surface dries. Add the 2 tbsp sesame oil and fry for 5 minutes more until fragrant.
10 minStep 4: Pour in the 4 ¼ cups sweet black rice vinegar and ¾ cup black rice vinegar, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes so the ginger infuses.
30 minStep 5: Add the trotters, cover and simmer gently for 1½ hours, until the skin is soft and gelatinous and a chopstick slides through the meat; it will be well above 160°F.
90 minStep 6: Add the eggs and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and add 1 oz brown slab sugar or dark brown sugar only if you like it sweeter.
15 minStep 7: Turn off the heat and leave covered, ideally overnight, for the eggs to darken. Reheat until bubbling hot before serving in small bowls.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zhu jiao jiang take?
- About 195 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 170 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
- What can I use instead of sweet black rice vinegar?
- Cider vinegar with a pinch of sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese