Pig Foot Soup

Blog 3- Pig Foot Soup: Q&A

Having just finished dinner with a big bowl of it, I now find myself qualified to answer the burning questions that you have always wanted to- but have resisted for fear of seeming naive- ask about pig foot soup.
Q: Does pig foot soup really contain pig's feet?
A: Not feet, foot. Just one big one, sitting in a pool of brown liquid. What kind of naive fucking question is that anyway?
Q: Why would anyone order something like that?
A: Because it's a delicacy, of course! Or perhaps alternatively because you didn't completely comprehend the all-Chinese menu you were ordering from and you thought you were getting some sort of fragrant pork stew. Or maybe the waitress suggested it and you wanted to pretend like you understood what she was saying. The real question it seems, is how the pigs foot found its way into the soup to begin with, and how the soup snuck on to the menu.
Q: Do they leave the toe nails on the pig foot?
A: Good question. Yes, although it is natural for one or two nails to loosen up and fall off the foot while you're boiling the flavor out of that sucker. Don't worry, they are still in the soup, and you can find them if you fish around the bottom.
Q: Should I expect to see a number of cracked or chipped bones protruding through the pale rubbery skin of my pig's foot?
A: Absolutely, the more protruding bones the better. This means that the pig was a free spirit and suggests that it had a very strong qi.
A: What else can I expect to find in pig foot soup, aside from a pigs foot?
Q: I don't want to ruin the surprise by telling you what they are, but there are some prizes waiting for you under the leafy greens in the bottom of the bowl. One of them looks like a thick brown shoe lace, segmented ala sausage links. Another one is an amalgam of dark brown matter that is neither bone nor flesh.
Q: What sort of bone to meat ratio are we talking about here?
A: There is no meat on a pig's foot.
Q: How does one clean a dead pig's foot sufficiently to use it as a base for soup broth?
A: Yeah, if you figure that one out, you let me know...