Tai Heo Ngam Giam (Pickled Pig Ear), No Added Refined Sugar
Vietnamese dishesBoiled DishesNorthern Vietnam20 minutes to boil, 1 to 2 days chilled before serving
Pickled pig ear lives or dies on its crunch. Boiled too long it goes limp, and no amount of pickling brings it back. The pickling liquid has to read clearly sour without turning sharp.
Twenty minutes in the pot with ginger and lemongrass, then straight into a bowl of iced water. Slice about 0.3cm thick, since anything thicker takes too long to take on the pickle. It sits in the fridge for 1 to 2 days before serving and goes well with fresh herbs.
This batch weighs about 1.3kg, at roughly 102 calories per 100g.
Method
Scrape the pig ears clean of hair, rub them thoroughly with apple cider vinegar, paying attention to the folds where dirt collects, then rinse well.
Peel the carrot and daikon radish and cut them into bite sized pieces. Peel and slice the garlic and shallots, keeping 2 shallots aside to bruise. Seed the chili and leave them whole. Scrape and bruise the ginger, and wash and bruise the lemongrass.
Set a pot of water on the stove with the bruised ginger and lemongrass, add the pig ears, and boil until cooked, about 20 minutes.
Lift the ears straight into a bowl of iced water, then slice them about 0.3cm thick.
In another pot, bring 300ml of apple cider vinegar, 100ml of water, 315g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, and 50g of seasoning salt to a boil, skim, then turn off the heat and let it cool completely.
Toss the pig ear in a large bowl with the carrot, daikon radish, sliced shallot and garlic, 6g of whole white peppercorns, and the chili, then pour over the cooled vinegar mixture and mix.
Pack into a clean jar, seal, and refrigerate 1 to 2 days before eating.
Tips
Long boiling softens the ears and costs them their crunch, so drop them into iced water as soon as they come out.
This keeps in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
Rice vinegar stands in when there is no apple cider vinegar.
The pickling liquid has to be completely cool before it goes in, since warm liquid softens the ears.
Slice the ears about 0.3cm thick, since thicker pieces do not take the pickling liquid evenly.
Pack the ears and vegetables in tightly and weigh them down under the liquid, since anything above the surface goes off.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.