Mom's Tu Ka

Old entry from previous blog

It's the time of the year again...If I'm in Kuching now there should be lots of ghastly tong tong tong chiang music, and red decor everywhere. And..sickly cute little girls singing God knows what with sweet smiley faces. Believe it or not..I miss that!!!! No plans for CNY yet, but the same weekend we should be heading down to Glasgow, meet up with old friends, revisit our favourite Chinese restaurants...more to come.

Anyway...went to the supermarket last weekend and while walking down the aisle for meats, he confidently plonk in a huge TU KA into our shopping cart and said "You can cook TU KA rite?"
I looked at that huge piece of meat (it's not even the classic trotter that we always use for traditional TU KA, but more of the appendate above the trotter. OK, anatomy lesson..trotter is the foot, what we bought happened to be the..errrmm..thigh? The same thing I ate with Alex and Teo in Sibu I think). And tried to remember when was the last time, if ever, I cooked TU KA. A year ago? In Sarikei..over the phone with mom. Did it turn out right? Hmmmm...
So I answered, "Sure..of course." Leos with their pride...

That thing sat inside the fridge for 2-3 days. I searched the net..all came out recipes for black vinegar trotter. Very west M'sianish. Tried that before while in KL..it's nice, but just doesn't click with my childhood association with TU KA. I frantically searched for my mom. I must have called like more than ten times home (when u want them, u just can't seem to get them), and I finally reached her, she said, "What, just to ask how cook TU KA issit? So kin..." must have thought either something very good or very bad happened. LOL...
So she said.....

Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 pig's trotter (preferable the forefeet, not hindfeet. Do I look like I have a choice?)
Chinese mushrooms, halved
1 whole Old ginger, sliced or smashed (Hokkien calls it Lam Kio. It's sweet smelling and more aromatic than normal ginger. But I used normal ginger anyway)
1 bulb of garlic, whole
3-4 shallots, diced
5 Spice powder
Brown sugar (she said...agak agak, so I just poured till I think it's just right, about half a cup)
Dark soy source (3-4 spoonful)
Water
Sunflower oil/ Sesame seed oil

To do:
1) Cut the TU KA into big pieces. (This I did with great difficulty. I'm no butcher, nor do I have a butcher's knife. And I like to believe I'm pretty small size [ahem]).
2) Blanched the TU Ka pieces with boiling hot water and drain. Rub 5 spice powder on the meat, just lightly coating. Set aside.
3) In a wok, heat up sunflower oil and sesame oil. Stir fry the ginger till aromatic, then add the shallots and fry till golden.
4) Add in the meat and fry till the skin crips slightly. Set aside.
5) In a pot under low heat, melt the brown sugar with soy source and water.
6) Mix the concoction in (5) with the stir fried TU KA in a pot. Add more water to just cover all the TU KA. Add mushrooms and the whole bulb of garlic.
7) Bring to a boil for about 15-20 mins, then simmer for 1-2 hours till the skin and meat softens.
Serve with rice or buns.

I used a multi-purpose National cooker...so I just quick cook for 10 mins, and slow cook for about 2 hours.
This is not the usual black vinegar trotter...but I grew up with this taste. Mom's taste. That's one of the reason why I seldom eat out when I'm in Kuching. My mom's such a great cook. Another reason is.. there's nothing much that's nice to eat there. No offense to all Kuchingites..I'm part of the clan myself.