This special video is near and dear to my heart for two reasons.
First, we recently gave birth to our second child,
so this video is an ode to our daughter Mayalyn.
Second, we’re preserving and learning
one of the most important Cantonese family traditions,
which is how to make Pork Knuckles in Ginger Vinegar Stew,
a dish passed down through generations
because it’s extremely beneficial for moms recovering from birth.
With only a handful of ingredients,
this simple stew can literally last for months
due to vinegar’s self-preserving acidity,
so you and your loved ones can enjoy it
while mom recovers and the baby grows.
First, my dad will show you how a Chinese chef prepares
the massive amounts of ginger required for this dish.
Today, I'm using 2 lbs of ginger.
I peeled some of the ginger,
but I didn't peel all of it, and that's fine.
I'm going to break it apart,
because the ginger is too thick,
so before we slice it,
we'll cut it into pieces first.
Cut it like this.
To get thinner pieces,
we’ll first cut our whole ginger carefully in half.
Give the ginger a quick smash before slicing it.
Then the flavor will be stronger.
Use your knife like this.
We’ll pound the ginger with a cleaver a few times.
The fibers are broken up.
See that?
See, they're broken up.
If you don’t have a heavy cleaver to pound the ginger,
you can use a heavy kitchen utensil
like a meat mallet or pestle, or even a pot or pan.
Then, time to slice it.
Then we’ll slice the ginger
into roughly 1/4 inch thick pieces.
With the unpeeled ginger,
we’ll follow the same steps.
You don't have to peel this one.
It's washed clean.
First, cutting it in half.
Pounding it.
Then slicing into smaller pieces.
All right, the ginger is cut.
Ginger, or goeng,
is an ingredient that is used all over the world
for its unique sweet, yet spicy flavor.
It is very versatile
and elevates any existing flavors,
featuring in both savory and sweet dishes,
from ice cream to chicken.
In Chinese medicine,
ginger is used to improve blood circulation,
help the body dispel coldness and wind,
regulate digestion,
reduce nausea and period pains, and more;
which is why, in Chinese tradition,
dishes with ginger as a main ingredient
are often made for parents who have just given birth.
So I just want to ask Kat
how the past 2.5 months have been for you.
You're making me cry.
Happy.
Tired.
Day by day, you see the baby grow.
I love her so much.
I'm more grateful for family.
We see each other every day.
You help so much with Hong Doy.
You guys helping us cook.
I'm so grateful for the family.
Grateful for Randy.
Grateful to Po Po.
Mhm.
For her great help.
Everyone! Everyone's been so helpful.
Next, my dad will show you an important step
to get the pork knuckles tasting delicious.
Now for the pork knuckles.
Add water.
We’ll add about 5 cups of room temperature water to a pot.
When you parboil this, it has to be cold water.
It'll boil all the junk out of the bones.
Now, put the pork knuckles in.
Is that on high heat?
Yes, must be on high heat.
With the heat on high,
we’ll place our pork knuckles into the water.
Boil them for a while,
and all the foul stuff inside will come out.
Now, we’ll cover the pot and let it come to a boil.
It's nearly boiling now.
Take the lid off and have a look.
Turn the heat to medium.
When the water boils,
we’ll uncover the pot and turn the heat down to medium.
That's stuff we don't want.
Why do you have to boil it?
After parboiling,
the foam inside the knuckles,
all the foam comes out,
so the meat tastes good.
The foam that comes out while boiling
is technically coagulated protein,
which we don’t want in our stew.
It's not cooked through.
It still needs to cook.
I have a bowl of cold water here.
After 2-3 minutes of cooking on medium,
we’ll take the pork knuckles out.
Take them out and put them in the water.
Use the cold water to wash them.
We’ll remove them one by one
and put them into a bowl of cold water.
We've moved them all over, so turn the heat off.
Bring it over to the sink.
Wash away the foam.
We’ll then rinse off our pork knuckles individually in the sink.
Then we’ll wash them one more time in a bowl,
drain the water,
and we’re done.
Dad, can you explain
her Chinese name?
Wai Yi.
Moi Moi's Chinese name is Wai Yi.
Wai means intelligent and clever.
Virtuous.
Virtuous means being a good person.
Very gentle.
And Yi means always happy,
always joyful,
and always smiling.
That is a happy person.
That's perfect, that's her!
Exactly her personality!
She can go pee pee.
She's so smart.
Yeah, she pees in the toilet already.
She's going to change her own diapers by three months.
She's going to cook on the show with Dad.
Just like Cameron’s name,
Mayalyn’s name has a lot of symbolism.
5 is a special number for me and Kat,
because we started dating after a long car ride on Highway 5,
and we got engaged on May 5th—
hence the name Maya.
“Lyn” is a suffix that’s been passed down through Kat’s family:
her mom Marilyn, to Kathlyn, to Mayalyn.
So, her Chinese name is
Wai Yi.
First name is Mayalyn,
last name is Lau.
So together, her initials
are MWL,
which is Made With Lau.
Oh!
A Made With Lau baby!
Now it’s time to break out our wok for the next step.
Our pork knuckles are prepared.
Now we'll cook the ginger in the wok,
stir-fry it so it gets aromatic.
We don't need any oil, just stir-fry it plain.
We’ll turn the heat to medium
and add our sliced ginger into the wok.
The point of this
is to fry some of the moisture out,
so the ginger can more easily absorb the vinegar.
It's still wet now,
so we'll cook some of the moisture out.
We’ll stir our ginger around,
making sure that each piece is cooking evenly.
Without oil, the wok can absorb
the moisture that we're cooking out.
High heat?
No, medium heat.
If it's too hot, the ginger will burn.
Spread the ginger out
to help it brown.
All right, it's almost cooked enough.
It's a little browned and very aromatic.
See that?
How do you know it's dry enough?
See, it has turned color.
After the ginger is dry and browning at the edges,
or around 4-5 minutes,
we’re ready to add our other main ingredient.
All right, time to add the vinegar.
Now for the other main flavoring ingredient in this dish:
vinegar or 醋 cou, in Cantonese.
There are countless types of vinegar
that are used for a variety of purposes
but today we’re using two kinds of black vinegar,
specifically Zhenjiang vinegar or zan gong hoeng cou,
named after the Chinese city of its origin,
and Sweet Black Vinegar or tim cou.
Black vinegar dates back more than a thousand years
and is usually made from glutinous rice or sorghum
and a variety of other ingredients
depending on where it’s made.
It’s generally less acidic than regular distilled white vinegar
and much more complex,
often being described as earthy or malty in flavor.
While most Chinese recipes calling for vinegar
call for Zhenjiang vinegar,
the bulk of the vinegar in this recipe
is actually Sweet Black Vinegar,
which is a uniquely Cantonese ingredient,
and potentially one that only exists for this specific dish.
The sweetness in this type of black vinegar
cuts the sourness of the stew and enhances the flavor.
There are many other kinds of Chinese black vinegars,
which our friends at Chinese Cooking Demystified
cover thoroughly in their video,
so check that out if you want to learn more about them.
For this recipe, you can use most other Chinese black vinegars
in place of the Zhenjiang vinegar.
However, the main vinegar base should be Cantonese sweet vinegar.
My dad used a large jug of the Patchun brand,
which is available at some Chinese grocery stores,
but he also uses the Pearl River Bridge brand.
You can buy both types of vinegar online
with the links in our description.
This is 5 lbs here.
5 lbs of vinegar.
I'm putting in half for now.
Now, I'm adding the sweet black vinegar.
We’ll add about 5 cups of sweet vinegar here.
Sweet vinegar alone isn't sour enough.
I'm choosing to use Zhenjiang vinegar too.
We’ll also add 3 fluid ounces of Zhenjiang vinegar
to give it a hint of sourness.
With the heat turned to high,
we’ll add in an ounce of rock sugar,
but you can use any other kind of sugar as a substitute.
We have all of these ingredients listed on our blog at madewithlau.com
along with step-by-step instructions and video clips
to guide you as you make the recipe at home.
Why are you using this wok?
I'll start the cooking here
and then transfer to continue in that one.
I'm using stainless steel because
the vinegar is sour and acidic,
it won't rust.
If I used an iron wok,
I'd have to clean it immediately and season with oil.
No need with stainless steel.
Also, I'm adding a bit of salt.
1 tsp of salt.
In my experience,
when cooking anything sour,
salt really brings out the true tanginess of it.
Adding the rock sugar
will help balance out the sourness.
After about 2 minutes of cooking the vinegar,
we’ll turn the heat down to medium.
We're cooking this on medium heat.
We’ll take this opportunity to have a taste test.
That's okay!
Put the lid on.
Cook it for a while on low heat.
Then we’ll cover the wok and turn the heat to low.
Cook it for about 5 minutes.
Now, I'll start making the eggs.
For this dish, we’ll need hard-boiled eggs.
If you need a quick refresher on how to make hard-boiled eggs,
my dad talks through it here.
When you boil eggs, you have to start with cold water.
Use enough water to cover all the eggs.
Boil it for 5 minutes, then turn the heat off.
Cook with 5 minutes with the heat off, then remove them.
Soak them in cold water.
After they've soaked, they'll be easy to peel.
I cooked these eggs just like that.
Now I'll peel them.
Is it up to you how to cook the eggs?
Yes, if you like them more cooked through, you can boil them longer.
Usually, you add the pork knuckles and eggs
when you're about to eat.
That's fine.
But if we're making it for a postpartum mom to eat,
they can soak in vinegar for a long time.
The ginger soaks for over a month, even 2 months.
They won't eat it all at once.
You don't have to add it all at once?
That's right, you don't have to keep the eggs soaking for so long.
Is it possible to soak the eggs and pork knuckles for too long?
That's not a problem.
What we usually do with the ginger and vinegar
is have the ginger and vinegar ready for mom,
bring it back to a boil every other day,
so it can keep for a long time.
If you're cooking it for a loved one,
how soon in advance would you recommend
starting to cook it?
One week in advance is good.
Because you don't eat it
immediately after giving birth to the baby.
You have to wait at least one week
before you eat it.
One or two weeks.
One to two weeks after giving birth, then you can eat this.
When Jennifer was born,
Daddy bought ten gallons...
A big pot!
He made the whole pot.
I ate some,
but a lot of it
was for serving to the family.
We put it in small containers.
"Hi!
We have a newborn grandkid now!"
or "I have a newborn son!"
You give it as a gift to other people?
Yeah, it lets them share in our happiness.
So it's not just for your own family.
No.
Like neighbors and things like that too?
Mostly family and good friends.
Uncover it.
After 6-7 minutes of cooking on low,
we’ll uncover the wok.
Did Mom ever eat this?
Yes!
Did you make it for her?
Of course!
I made this when Mommy had you and your sister.
We’ll let it simmer for another 4-5 minutes,
occasionally stirring the ginger around.
I also wanted to make a special shoutout to thank all of our
wonderful Patreon supporters for helping bring this video to life.
If you enjoy our videos and are interested in supporting us directly,
head on over to patreon.com/madewithlau to learn more!
After simmering for 4-5 minutes,
we’re ready to bring in our large clay pot.
Wow!
Usually, when you cook vinegar,
you'll use a cooking vessel made of clay.
You wouldn't use metal.
If you don't have this, use stainless steel.
because oxidation is not a concern with stainless steel.
Traditionally, we'd use this kind of pot.
Is it better than stainless steel?
It retains heat better.
Stainless steel is still a metal,
so it doesn't retain heat well.
This one retains heat well.
If you can’t find a large clay pot,
a large stainless steel pot is a good alternative.
Turn off the heat.
First, we’ll turn the heat off.
Transfer the ginger first to make a layer on the bottom.
Then, we’ll scoop out all of the ginger
and put it into the clay pot.
Ginger at the bottom.
Why?
Then the pork knuckles won't stick to the pot.
And having the ginger at the bottom
helps release its flavor better.
Now, pour the vinegar in.
Once the ginger is all in,
we’ll carefully pick up our wok,
with heat protection like towels or oven mitts if needed,
and pour all of the vinegar mixture into the clay pot.
Be sure to pour away from yourself for your own safety.
Bring it over to the stove.
Remember, don't use high heat with this type of pot.
Use medium-low heat.
If it's too hot,
it'll be prone to cracking.
Turn the heat back on.
With the clay pot on the stove,
we’ll turn the heat to medium-low.
Now, cook it on medium-low.
Cover it.
I want to make sure everyone's aware of something,
I don't recommend cooking this on an electric stovetop,
unless you have something to prop the pot up,
so that the pot is not directly touching the stovetop.
If it's on direct heat,
directly touching the bottom of the pot,
the pot will be very prone to cracking.
How is that different from a flame?
Because there's a distance in between.
It's boiling now.
Once it boils, we’ll uncover and add the pork knuckles.
Now, I'll add the pork knuckles.
When you add the pork knuckles,
put the bones at the bottom.
The reason for that is
with the bones at the bottom, the vinegar will soak in more,
bringing the calcium out.
That's why.
Let's add a little more vinegar.
The vinegar will cover all of the pork knuckles.
Add a bit more.
We’ll add a bit more sweet vinegar
to cover the ingredients entirely if needed.
Then we’ll put the lid back on.
After adding the pork knuckles,
it's not ready to eat right away.
Keep it cooking for at least an hour.
Then you're really ready to eat,
after adding the eggs.
After giving birth, those vinegar jars,
the eggs soak for quite a while.
After it boils,
we'll add the eggs.
Not now?
You could add them now.
The eggs can soak for a long time.
I'm not adding them yet, I want the pork knuckles to soak first.
Let them cook first, then add the eggs.
When you're soaking it, where do you put the pot?
You can leave it out.
Because you bring it to a boil every now and then,
the vinegar won't go bad easily.
Somewhere cool or somewhere warm?
Somewhere cool.
Back then, in China,
no one had refrigerators.
Everyone just brought it back to boil every other day.
Gently, over low heat.
So you could eat it now, but later it's even tastier?
Yeah.
All right, so next,
we're waiting for it to cook.
At this point, we’ll continue to heat the pot on low heat.
Traditionally, once it boils,
we’d add in the hard-boiled eggs
and let it cook for at least an hour.
However, if you prefer softer, less chalky eggs,
you can put them in right before you turn off the heat.
Then we can remove the pot from the stove
and just let the ingredients soak.
For storage, we’ll put the pot either in the fridge
or just have it out in a relatively cool place.
If you don’t put it in the fridge,
make sure to bring the stew back up to a boil
every two or three days to kill the bacteria
and keep it safe to eat for up to several weeks.
Remember: the longer we let it soak,
the healthier and tastier it is.
And when we’re ready to serve,
we’ll reheat and serve hot.
What are your wishes for Maya?
May you grow up big and fast!
May you be clever and smart,
and beautiful!
As smart as Mommy!
As smart as Mommy?
Smarter than Mommy!
My wish is also for you to grow big and fast.
Grow big and fast.
Grow big and fast, clever and smart.
Lively and loveable!
And filial and beautiful.
And smart!
How about Daddy and Mommy's wish?
To be curious
and...
excited for the world,
and never leave Mommy.
Randy, what's your wish?
I just want her to be
confident,
and...
just be empathetic and kind.
I want her to be curious
and not afraid to make mistakes.
And to be loving.
Yeah.
We love you.
Welcome to the world.
Welcome to the Lau family.
I love you so much.
Cheers!
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