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A newborn baby cries. In many Gom Benn families, the child’s arrival is also heralded with the fragrant aroma of sweet vinegar. It’s the traditional Cantonese postnatal dish – dark, sweet vinegar, ginger, hard-boiled eggs, and pig trotters or pork feet. Yum…

The sweet vinegar dish is shared with family and friends to celebrate the baby’s birth. For the new mom, it’s favored for its supposed recovery value, rich in the nutrients recommended the world over. . 

The dish is valued for its calcium, from the bones of the pig trotters as they’re dissolved by the vinegar in the cooking. Pork feet  is also a source of collagen, which is important for healthy skin, relieving joint pain, and muscle gain. Pigs feet are also high in protein. Ginger is rich in Vitamin C, which helps to strengthen the mother’s immune system. Ginger is also a common folk treatment for upset stomach and nausea. Ginger seems to aid digestion and saliva flow. Eggs are another source of protein and collagen. The vinegar also aids digestion while serving as a preservative, extending the dish’s shelf life by killing bacteria.  A bowl of this sweet vinegar stew has nearly 600 calories.

This recipe uses one pre-mixed sweetened black rice vinegar (other recipes call for mixing a sweet vinegar with a sour vinegar). To make this recipe, you should use a clay pot, or any other non-reactive cookware. The acidity of vinegar can ruin reactive cookware made of aluminum, copper, iron, and non-stainless steel.

Here’s What You’ll Need

• 2 pound of ginger 
• One jug of Tung Chun sweetened black rice vinegar (2 quarts, 1 pint). 
• 4 pig trotters, cut into smaller pieces (about 3 lbs.)
• 10 eggs

Steps for Making Recipe

1. Scrape the skin off the ginger, keeping the ginger in large pieces. Rinse them clean and wipe dry. Lightly smash each chunk with the side of a heavy knife. Dry for at least a couple of hours, overnight is best.
2. Cook the ginger for about 10 minutes in a wok. Don’t burn.
3. Boil the ginger in the sweetened black rice vinegar, using the clay pot. Once boiling, turn down the heat to medium, and simmer for 90 minutes. 
4. While the vinegar and ginger are simmering, prepare the pig trotters and eggs.
5. Soak the pigs feet in water for 10 minutes. Take off the hair. Then, cook the pig feet in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Rinse in cold water. Repeat, the boiling and rinsing.
6. Once the vinegar and ginger have simmered for 90 minutes, stir in the pork.
7. Cover and cook for another 60 to 90 minutes over medium heat. You’ll know it’s done when you can easily poke through the pork skin with a chopstick. 
8. While the pig trotters are cooking, boil the eggs. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Place the eggs into the boiling water, and boil for 30 seconds. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water. Once cool, tap the eggs against the counter to crack the shell, and peel off the shell. 
9. Place the peeled eggs into the sweet vinegar stew and bring everything to a boil. 
10. Reboil each day and serve hot. 

Congratulations on your new baby! And even if you’re not celebrating a new baby, but you just like eating this sweet vinegar stew, enjoy!