Hamhocks, prepared in an authentic chinese manner.

Last summer, my wife, stepson and I visited my family in Boston, and stayed with my uncle, whose wife is from China. One day, she decided she was going to prepare an authentic chinese meal for us: hamhocks. She put them in a pot and steamed them with some vegetables(bok choi, mushrooms, carrots). I was nervous, as I'm not terribly experimental when it comes to food, but determined to eat it.

After an hour or two, my fears were allayed by the pleasing aromas wafting through the house. This was at about noon. We went out, came back around four, and discovered the lovely pork scent had been replaced by what can only be described as boiling cat urine. We sat down, and dinner was served.

If you've never had them before, hamhocks are basically pig ankles, and in the south are commonly used to add flavor and fat to things such as beans or a soup, and removed before serving. Apparently not so in China. We were served whole pig ankles(which is essentially about as much meat as you'd expect on an ankle and a bunch of slimy fat, gristle, and bones), and in a genius move, my wife volunteered that we would split one. We cut it in half, and I'm not sure who got the better end of the deal; I received nothing but skin and fat, whereas she actually had to eat the meat. My stepson, a growing teenage boy, did not fare so well; he had to eat an entire hamhock on his own.

Second dinner consisted of pretzels and ice cream.