Pork Aspic

Here's another one of J's specialties:

Aspic is just congealed gelatin. If you want a lengthy description, click here.

Take a few pounds (2-3) of pork feet and put in a pot with enough water to just cover all the bones. Throw in one or two pieces of chicken. Dark meat with bones work better, so we used one thigh. Bring to a boil and let simmer until all the meat is broken down and falling apart. Basically, cook it way past the stage that you would at all want to eat it, adding a little water if it drops below 3/4 of the original amount. You can add a little salt or soy sauce to the aspic, but it's not necessary.

Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then strain out the liquid into a loaf pan. Pick off the pork skin and meat, removing all bones and gristle. Break the meat and skin into small chunks. Pick off the chicken meat, discarding the bones and skin. Shred. Put the pork meat, pork skin, and chicken meat into the loaf pan with the liquid, distributing somewhat evenly.

Refrigerate until set, and scrape off the top layer of fat that forms (save it for another dish; stay tuned for what I do!). Serve with cilantro and a drizzle of sesame oil and soy sauce.

Aspic is really quite delicious, and if you leave out the pork skin (why?!) it's not very fatty at all. The fat floats to the top, so it's just gelatin and lean meat. The texture is bouncy, the flavor is meaty, and overall it's a refreshing cold snack or side dish that's a little out of the norm.