Home-style Doupu Braised Pig's Tail

Often, when writing introductions for dishes, it feels like describing "healing soups" — discussing their nutritional value and how they can rejuvenate one's energy.3 It's as if eating a couple of such dishes will instantly boost your vitality, making you feel invincible like a "roach."Actually, there are two issues here: giving versus receiving. Good dishes for others may not be good for oneself. With the arrival of winter, consuming more gelatin-rich and slightly greasy dishes can help increase one's ability to withstand cold temperatures; perhaps this isn't such a bad thing. In fact, studies have shown that eating these kinds of food does not correlate with an increased risk of certain diseases. Interestingly, people who consume pure oils like olive oil at high rates have higher cancer incidence than Easterners. Thus, making dishes suitable for oneself and one's family is the best approach because it is only when your family approves of the taste and texture that you can truly be satisfied with what you've prepared. This dish is no exception.The "Dou Bo" mentioned here refers to tofu in Cantonese. Ingredients: 50g of Dou Bo, 250g of pig's tail, 4g of peanut oil, 2g of salt, 5g of seafood sauce, 5g of chili bean sauce, 5g of rock sugar, 1g of chicken essence, 3g of garlic cloves, 2g of ginger slices, and 15ml of rice wine.1. Prepare the ingredients: Cut an incision in the Dou Bo to allow it to absorb the sauce better;Pound the pig's tail into smaller pieces, then blanch them in cold water before rinsing off any blood clots, and drain well. 2. Heat a wok over medium heat until it is about 50% hot, add peanut oil, and then stir-fry rock sugar to create a caramel color.3. Continue cooking on medium-high heat, adding the garlic cloves and ginger slices to sauté until fragrant, then add the pig's tail and stir-fry evenly. 4. Add seafood sauce and chili bean sauce, stirring well after each addition, and then pour in rice wine along the edge of the pan to mix thoroughly.

5. Pour in enough water to cover all ingredients, bring to a boil for 10 minutes on high heat, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.6. At this point, the sauce should have reduced to half its original volume; add Dou Bo, salt, and chicken essence, stir well, and continue simmering until further reduced. 7. Reduce the sauce to one-third of its initial volume when ready to serve.8. Transfer the ingredients along with the broth into a sand pot, bring to a gentle boil over high heat before serving. 9. Serve after slight adjustments if needed.10. To determine when the pig's tail is cooked, use a skewer to pierce through the thickest part of the skin; it can be pierced easily when done. Cut 2g of ginger and add 15ml of cooking wine.

Steps

1. Prepare the ingredients: use a knife to cut an opening in the dou dou for it to absorb the sauce better;Cut the pig's tail into small pieces, blanch them in cold water, then rinse off the blood foam and drain well, setting aside.

2. Use medium fire to heat the pot until it is 50% heated, add peanut oil, followed by ice sugar, and stir-fry to make a caramel color.

3. Turn on medium heat, then add the garlic cloves and ginger slices to stir-fry until fragrant before adding the pig's tail to stir-fry evenly.

4. Add hoisin sauce and zhuyehuang sauce, stir-fry evenly, then pour in cooking wine along the edge of the pot and stir well.

5. Add boiling water to cover all ingredients, bring to a boil for 10 minutes over high heat, then switch to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

6. The sauce has reduced to half its original volume; add dou dou, salt, and chicken essence, stir-fry evenly, and continue simmering until the sauce further reduces.

7. Reduce the sauce to one-third of its original volume, prepare to remove from heat.

8. Pour the ingredients with the sauce into a clay pot and boil over high heat until slightly boiling before serving.

9. Serve after slight tidying up.

Tip: To judge when the pig's tail is cooked, use a toothpick to pierce the thickest part of the skin; it should be able to go in easily.