Although people often eat and cook pork parts such as meat, liver, heart, and hooves, few people know that pig skin is a highly nutritious food. In fact, pig skin has a high protein content, 2.5 times higher than pork meat, a high carbohydrate content, 4 times higher than meat, but only half the fat content of pork. In addition, pig skin also contains high amounts of gelatin and collagen, which help nourish the skin and make it firm and youthful.
With this ingredient, you can make many simple and budget-friendly dishes that are extremely delicious, such as spicy and sour pig skin fat, salted and spicy pig skin, braised pig skin… Let’s learn a simple and refreshing dish for the hot summer from pig skin using this simple recipe.
How to make pig skin jelly
1. Ingredients for pig skin jelly
– Pig skin: 500 grams
– Spring onion, ginger
– Star anise, cinnamon
– Seasonings: salt
2. How to make pig skin jelly
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
– When you bring the pig skin home, you need to shave the fur and wash it with water. Then, put the pig skin in cold water and bring it to a boil. Wait for the water to boil for about 5 minutes, then remove and let it cool.
– Use a sharp knife and remove all the remaining fat. The cleaner the fat is removed, the tastier and less greasy the dish will be. Then, rinse the pig skin with clean water and slice it into small, thick pieces about 5mm wide and 5cm long.
– Remove any damaged leaves, wash the spring onion leaves and cut them into short pieces.
– Peel the ginger, wash it and cut it into thin shreds.
Step 2: Boil the pig skin
– Place a pot of water on the stove and add the pig skin and the ingredients: spring onion, cinnamon, star anise, ginger cut into shreds, and a teaspoon of salt.
– Turn on the heat and boil on high heat, then slowly reduce the heat. Cook for about 1 hour until the pig skin broth turns milky white.
Step 3: Make pig skin jelly
– Pour the pig skin broth into a glass tray, let it cool completely, then cover it and refrigerate it until it solidifies.
– When you see that the pig skin has solidified, use a sharp knife to score the edges of the tray and turn it upside down to remove the pig skin from the tray.
– Cut the pig skin jelly into bite-sized pieces and place them on a plate.
When eating pig skin jelly, you will feel its chewy and fragrant texture, which is delicious and not greasy at all. You can enjoy this dish in the summer and serve it with sweet and sour fish sauce, lemon chili seasoning, or soy sauce.
3. Some notes when cooking pig skin jelly
– When buying pig skin, you should choose clean pieces that are pinkish white in color, and avoid pieces with very white skin as they may have been bleached.
– Good quality pig skin will have thick skin and a distinctive slightly gamey smell. However, if you smell a foul odor, do not buy it as it may have been stored for a long time.
– Avoid pig skin pieces with bruises, dark discoloration, or lumps on the surface.