In Western cuisine, pigs trotters are mostly eaten in certain ethnic communities and among poorer people, but they are considered a popular delicacy in China.

When braised with a sweet and sour sauce, the tender, flavorful and gelatinous meat is irresistible.

In the past, the Chinese cooked animal parts like trotters and chicken heads because they were cheap but nutritious food. With proper cooking and the right mix of spices, these somewhat underrated parts could be turned into tasty meals. With growing popularity, the price of trotters has gone up.

Pig's feet are often cooked as stews and in soups, and they can be braised or fried as snack food in night street markets.

Trotters are perhaps best when slow cooked, to tenderize the meat and extract excess fat. The ruby colored skin has a jelly-like texture. When the meat soaks up the sauce, it's so tender that falls off the bone easily.

The key is the right seasonings — spices like anise and ginger not only take away the meaty smell but also add depth to flavor.

Here are a few recipes if you want to explore a taste you might not have tried before.

Baked pork feet

This is a very popular snack food with lots of flavor. It's easy to make at home and mouth-wateringly delicious.

Ingredients: 500 grams of trotters, cut into large chunks Prepare a spice bag of muslin. Put in star anise, Chinese cinnamon, licorice root, angelica root, nutmeg, Sichuan pepper, tangerine peel, fennel, cloves, bay leaves, dried ginger and dried chilli pepper Five-spice powder and ground cumin Light and dark soy sauces, rock sugar and salt

Steps: 1. Put the spice bag in about three liters of water, add the soy sauces, rock sugar and salt and boil for five minutes. 2. Bring another pot of water to boil, and cook the pig’s feet until the color changes. Drain. 3. Put the pig's feet in the first pot and cook until tender. Do not overcook the meat or you will get a chewy texture. 4. Leave the pig's feet in for about four hours to soak up more flavor. 5. Take the meat chunks out, and spread with a layer of five spice powder and cumin. 6. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Bake the pig’s feet for 20 minutes and serve.

Mama's pig's feet soup

This milky colored soup, stewed with kidney beans, is a famous dish in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Using good quality pig’s feet from a butchery, you can easily make the dish at home and enjoy a warming, rich soup.

Ingredients: 500 grams of pig's feet, cut in big chunks 100 grams of ginger A bowl of kidney beans Rice cooking wine A piece of dried tangerine peel

Steps: 1. The night before, soak the kidney beans in cold water. 2. In a pot of cold water, put a tablespoon of rice wine, several pieces of ginger and the pig’s feet. Bring to a boil over medium heat. 3. Drain the meat and rinse with warm water. 4. Put the trotters and drained kidney beans in a new pot of warm water, bring to boil and keep the heat up for 30 minutes to achieve the white color of the soup. Add water as necessary. 5. Turn the heat down and add the tangerine peel and ginger. Stew for four hours on the lowest heat. 6. Season with salt before serving. You can make a dipping sauce for the pig’s feet using soy sauce, vinegar, chilli oil, sesame seeds and chopped green onion.

Braised pig's trotters with ginger and egg

This is a crowd pleaser popular in Guangdong Province. It uses vinegar to season the pork.

Ingredients: 500 grams of pig's trotters, cut in big chunks 4 eggs 300 grams of ginger 1 bottle (500 ml) of Tianding sweet vinegar 3 tablespoons of black vinegar A few pieces of rock sugar

Steps: 1. Bring a pot of cold water with eggs in it to a boil for eight minutes, then place the eggs in cold water immediately and shell them when cool. 2. Slice the ginger and tap it with the knife to break the fibers, then dry any excess water on the surface. 3. Add some oil to a pan and sautee the ginger slices over a slow heat until they are slightly dehydrated. 4. Thoroughly wash the pig's feet. Bring a pot of water to boil, then cook the trotters until the color turns red. Remove the pig's feet and drain the excess water. 5. In a cooking pot, add rock sugar, sweet and black vinegars, and bring to boil. Then add eggs and ginger and bring to a boil again. 6. Put the trotters in the pot, bring to boil and then turn the heat down to medium-low. 7. Braise for about 90 minutes, or until the meat is soft.

Pig's feet braised in fermented red bean curd sauce

This is also a popular dish in Cantonese cuisine, made with fermented red bean curd sauce that gives the meal a distinctive flavor.

Ingredients: 2 pig's trotters, cut into big chunks 6 pieces of fermented red bean curd and 2 tablespoons of its sauce in the bottle 3 pieces of rock sugar 50 grams of ginger Some green onion and Sichuan pepper 2 star anise 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce 2 tablespoons of rice cooking wine

Steps: 1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the pig's feet until the color changes. Drain and rinse in cold water. 2. Crush the fermented red bean curd, adding in its sauce, the light and dark soy sauces and the rice wine. 3. Over a medium heat, put some oil in a pan and stir fry the pig’s feet until slightly golden, then add ginger, green onions and anise, and stir fry once more. 4. Add the sauce from step 2 and rock sugar as well as water or soup stock to cover the pig's feet, bring to boil on high heat and turn down to slow heat and stew for 90 minutes.