Pig's trotters, braised Chinese Style

These braised pork feet are moist, tender and flavorful. They are braised in a sweet and savory sauce until the skin and meat fall from the bone.

4 pork trotters (about 1.5kg), each one chopped into 6 pieces each

5cm piece of ginger , thickly sliced

Another 5cm piece of ginger , coarsely smashed

½ cup white part of scallion (or green onion)

3 to 5 chillis

2 star anise

5 cloves

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

5 tbsp Chinese Rice Wine or Japanese Sake

2 tsp salt

Place trotters and ginger slices in a large pot and add water to cover pork feet. Bring the water to a boil and continue boiling for about 5 minutes.
Discard water and rinse the trotters.
Put the trotters in a pressure cooker and add water until the pork is covered completely.
Cook under pressure for 20 minutes.
Transfer the trotters to a wok or dutch oven along with 1 cup of the pork broth from the pressure cooker.
Add the rest of the ingredients into the wok and turn to high heat.
After bringing the broth to a boil, reduce to low heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Stir pork feet every 10 minutes initially to avoid burning on the bottom then stir more often toward the end of braising, after the sauce has thickened. Add water during the braising process if the broth becomes thick while the pork is still tough. If the pork turns very soft but the sauce is still thin, turn to medium heat and boil uncovered.
Reduce sauce until desired thickness.

Skip step 3 and add boiled pork, water and all ingredients into a wok or a dutch oven.
Add water until it covers pork and boil for around 2 hours. If the water level becomes too low while pork is still though, add warm water, 1 to 2 cups at a time, and continue braising.
Reduce sauce until desired thickness.