Pork Skin Jelly

Method

1. Put 120 g of pork skin in a small saucepan, cover with cold water and add 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine. Bring to the boil over a high heat and blanch for 3 minutes, skimming the grey scum, then drain and rinse under cold water until the skin is cool enough to handle.
2. Lay the skin fat-side up on a board and scrape away every trace of fat with the back of a heavy knife, until the underside is pale and clean — leftover fat clouds the jelly. Pluck out any remaining bristles with tweezers, then slice the skin into strips no thicker than 3 mm; the finer the strips, the faster the collagen dissolves.
3. Return the strips to the rinsed pan with 360 ml of water, 10 g of sliced ginger, 1 spring onion (white knotted, green tops added whole), 0.25 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns and 0.25 tsp of salt. Bring to the boil, skim once, then drop to the barest simmer.