In keeping with this issue’s adventurous theme, I opted to cook something that, for lots of people, takes some guts to eat: pigs’ feet. While some may recoil at the thought of gnawing on the severed, almost humanoid claw of a deceased swine, the cooked product is a treat to behold. My personal favorite is red-braised pigs’feet (红烧猪蹄 h5ngsh`o zh$t!), a dish in which the trotters are roasted to a dark, lustrous red, while the meat inside is cooked to a tender succulence that almost melts in your mouth.
　　Besides being a weird and wonderful fixture of Chinese cuisine, pigs’ feet are perfect this season for another reason—they’re actually a fitting dish to serve your mom for a belated Mother’s Day feast. So why pigs’ feet instead of, say, flowers or a phone call? Because pigs’ feet aren’t only delicious, they also encapsulate your wish that your mother will stay young, healthy and beautiful for as long as possible!
　　In China, pigs’ feet are known as a “beauty food” (美容食品 m0ir5ng sh!p@n) and are commonly described as “a delicacy similar to bears’paws” (according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, bear paws are a rare delicacy packed with essential nutrients). Not only do pigs’ feet have substantially less fat than normal pork, they are rich in collagen. So all those aging celebrities intent on injecting their faces with collagen in a bid to keep the wrinkles away have got it all wrong—they just need to eat more pigs’ feet!
　　But it’s not just movie stars and vain, middle-aged women who need to keep stocked up on collagen; all human bodies need the fibrous protein to stay fit and healthy. Furthermore, pigs’ trotters are thought to alleviate symptoms of fatigue, heal cramps or numbness in the legs, cure digestive problems and reduce healing time after serious injuries or surgery.
　　All of that, and they taste good too, which is why pigs’ feet are ubiquitous across Chinese cuisine, cooked up both in restaurants and(if you have a bit of time on your hands) at home. They’re the vital ingredient in countless dishes from across the country, from Taiwan’s famous wanluan zhujiao (万峦猪脚), to Cantonese versions of baiyun zhushou (白云猪手), to Shanxi’s daiba zhouzi (带把肘子), Shandong’s jiuxiang jiaoyan zhouzi (酒香椒盐肘子) and Henan’s hongpa zhouzi (红扒肘子). Bet you didn’t know there were so many ways to cook a trotter!
　　As for the health facts, pigs’ feet have more going for them than simple collagen, and Traditional Chinese Medicine has recognized their benefits for at least 2,000 years. The eminent Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) physician Zhang Zhongjing (张仲景) is recorded as having issued zhufufang(猪肤方, prescriptions related to pig’s skin), which noted the power of the skin on pigs’ feet to help regulate blood circulation and hydrate the pores.
　　Pigs’ feet are also believed to help new mothers produce milk. A famous Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) nutrition guide called “Suixi Juyin Shipu” (《随息居饮食谱》), which contained a collection of homestyle food and drink recipes, says that “pigs’ feet can replenish and strengthen the kidneys, aid the flow of gastric juices, smooth the skin, help heal scars and combine with blood to help new mothers produce more milk.” Even now, new mothers in China frequently eat a dish of pigs’ feet to help encourage lactation, usually by boiling them in a soup filled with herbal medicines, red dates, soy beans, peanuts and milkvetch root.
　　So there you go, nothing to be afraid of. Man—er, woman—up and eat some pigs’ feet!- he julIng (何菊玲)