Songzi Braised Pig Trotter

Songzi braised trotter is a traditional red-braised dish of Xitang, taking a whole front pig trotter simmered long and slow with herbs and spices until glossy red, the skin glutinous and the meat melting, rich yet never cloying, savoury with a touch of sweetness.

The dish is a Xitang local classic whose name is said to carry the auspicious wish of "granting a child"; it was long the crowning dish at wedding, birthday and new-baby banquets, and was handed down to become an emblem of the water town's hospitality.

Brought out whole and carved at the table, the skin and meat melt on the tongue; it is served as a banquet centrepiece or alongside yellow wine, the most ceremonial dish on a Xitang table.

Its generous whole-trotter form, the slow-braised melting texture and the auspicious name of "granting a child" are the marks of this dish.