Pig's Feet, A Taiwanese Delicacy

A few nights ago, I made pig's feet for dinner. It is one of my favorite dishes of all time. I love soft, mushy chewy foods. For the uninitiated, if you like eating oxtail or tendon, pig's feet is seriously right up your alley. Don't be afraid, give it a try today!

Note that this dish does take several hours to make (or more like several hours of wait, since it requires very little active involvement), but if you use chicken broth, you can shorten cooking time.

I bought the pig's feet for at Fairway Market, uptown at 74th and Broadway. I forgot how much I paid, but you can purchase it from freshdirect.com online for $0.89/pound.


A photo of the glistening pig's feet, still frozen in its vacuum-sealed container.


My Tilia FoodSaver 550. One of most prized kitchen appliances. The FoodSaver sucks up air and reduces the likelihood of freezer burn. Since my schedule is very unpredictable, and I never know the next time I will be able to cook, being able to freeze my food and not worry about it spoiling is a real blessing.


I took the pig's feet out and rinsed it under cold water. Then I placed it into a pot of water.


Then I let it boil for about 4 hours. Time to have an Alias marathon (I'm stilling in the middle of the first season)! Leave the heat on medium to low. You want the water to simmer, but not boil. If you're taking the shortcut, you only need to boil the pig's feet for 45 minutes.


Scum started to build up on top of the water. I skimmed it off with a spoon. Out, you nasty scum!


See how pretty they look? After the pig's feet have become extremely soft and gooey-- the meat will fall off of the bones, I flavored the broth. Here you would add chicken broth,


rice wine,


soy sauce,


and sugar (I ran out of the regular kind)


Now the liquid has turned a deep brown color. I tasted the soup and added a little salt. You can add veggies at this point, too-- bok choy goes pretty well with the dish. Since I had nothing on hand, I left it.


Put some rice in a bowl.


I ladled the hot pig's feet along with broth,


poured it over the rice. Very simple and delicious! The meat just melted in my mouth. The dish can be relatively fatty, so if you are watching your weight, you may want to chill the broth and scoop out the fat that will float to the top.

Apparently, pig's feet are enjoyed by the French as well as the Chinese. I once tried it at the French bistro/brasserie called L'Express. Covered with bread crumbs and drenched in a mustardy sauce, the pig's feet were good, but frankly I prefer it the Taiwanese way.