Thai Pig's Ear Salad

Thai Pig's Ear Salad, originally uploaded by essgee51.

As part of the run-up to attempting sisig, I picked a couple of pig's ear recipes to try. This first one, from Gourmet, is a cold salad. While John didn't like the texture (I loved it - succulent with a slight crunch from the cartilage), we both loved the fresh, bright, very Thai flavor. It also gave me an opportunity to avail myself of cilantro and mint from our garden.

• 1 lb pigs’ ears
• 8 c water
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1/4 c distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 c sliced ginger
• 2 T sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 cilantro sprigs
• 1 fresh Thai chile, halved lengthwise (used a jalapeno)

• 1/4 c fresh lime juice
• 2-3 T fish sauce
• 1 T minced fresh lemongrass (from a trimmed stalk with outer leaves discarded)
• 1/2 t sugar
• 1 to 2 Thai chiles, minced, including seeds (used one jalapeno, seeded and with pith removed)
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 c chopped cilantro
• 1/3 c chopped mint
• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, chopped

Remove any remaining hair from pig ears with a razor, then cut ears into two-inch pieces. Put in a pot with the water, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sugar, garlic, sprigs of cilantro and chile. Bring to a boil and simmer till ears are tender/at desired consistency (I like them a bit on the crunchy side), 2-3 hours.

Remove ears, and drain, reserving liquid for another use. Chop ears.

In a bowl, mix lime juice, fish sauce, lemongrass, sugar, chiles, and garlic. Add ears, cilantro, mint, scallions and shallots. Serve at room temperature or chilled.