CNY
is more than two months away, but here's my take on the traditional
Pencai recipe which I've been doing for the past couple of years.
It's worked quite well so far, so if anyone's interested, give this a
try! Word of caution: It takes 2 days to prepare and put together -
so plan well ahead!
Master
Stock Ingredient
- 700 grams fresh medium prawns
- 400 gram pork belly
- A pinch of course sea salt
- 250 grams fresh white clams
- 3 large dried oysters
- 3 large dried scallops
- 1 leek, sliced
- 1 thumb young ginger, thinly sliced
- 1 bulb spring onion/ Tokyo Negi, whites only, thinly sliced
- Dark Soy 3 tblspn
- Light Soy 3 tblspn
- Shaoxing wine 1 tblspn
- Teochew fish sauce 2 tspn
- Oyster sauce 2 tblspn
- 2tbsn sunflower or canola oil
- Thumb-size rock sugar
- One pinch coriander seeds, crushed in mortar & pestle, lightly toasted
- One pinch mustard seeds, crushed in mortar & pestle, lightly toasted
- 700 grams fresh medium prawns
- 400 gram pork belly
- A pinch of course sea salt
- 250 grams fresh white clams
- 3 large dried oysters
- 3 large dried scallops
- 1 leek, sliced
- 1 thumb young ginger, thinly sliced
- 1 bulb spring onion/ Tokyo Negi, whites only, thinly sliced
- Dark Soy 3 tblspn
- Light Soy 3 tblspn
- Shaoxing wine 1 tblspn
- Teochew fish sauce 2 tspn
- Oyster sauce 2 tblspn
- 2tbsn sunflower or canola oil
- Thumb-size rock sugar
- One pinch coriander seeds, crushed in mortar & pestle, lightly toasted
- One pinch mustard seeds, crushed in mortar & pestle, lightly toasted
Base
Stock Preparation1.
De-shell the heads of the prawns, remove the antennae. Leave the
tails intact.
2. In a hot wok with 2 tblspn of canola or sunflower oil, fry the heads of the prawn until pink and fragrant (5 minutes)
3. Drain the prawn heads of oil, set on a roasting tin lined with kitchen towel. Pat dry of oil.
4. In a hot oven (pre-heat to 200 deg), roast the prawn shells for 10 minutes.
5. Remove tin from oven, allow the shells to cool to room temperature.
6. Wrap prawn shells in a cheese cloth tightly, tie up the cheese cloth into a bundle, and pound the shells into as fine as possible in a mortar and pestle. Set aside when done.
7. Score the pork belly fat with a few sharp nips of a pair of kitchen shears. This helps some of the sweet sub-cutaneous fat to escape during the poaching process.
8. Heat up a sauce pan with 1.7 liter of water. Salt the water with a pinch of course sea salt.
9. In simmering water (not rolling boil), slow-poach the pork belly for 30 minutes.
10. Remove the pork belly, and strain the cooking liquids through a fine kitchen towel or a good sieve into another sauce pan or soup pot.
11. Wash the white clams a few times in clean cold water. Remove as much grit as you can, and scrub the shells of any external grit or dirt
12. Set aside the clams in a small pot with enough water just to leave their tips sticking out. 10 minutes before cooking them, tie up all the clams loosely in a cheesecloth.
13. Bring the cooking liquids from the pork belly back to a gentle simmer (around 80-85 deg).
14. Lower the cheese cloth with the prawn shells into the cooking liquids and poach for 30 minutes. This allows the flavors of the prawn shells to leech into the cooking liquid.
15. Lower the cheese cloth with the white clams into the cooking liquid when the prawn shells have been poaching for 20 minutes.
16. Remove both the clams and prawns. You now have the stock base for making the pencai master stock.
2. In a hot wok with 2 tblspn of canola or sunflower oil, fry the heads of the prawn until pink and fragrant (5 minutes)
3. Drain the prawn heads of oil, set on a roasting tin lined with kitchen towel. Pat dry of oil.
4. In a hot oven (pre-heat to 200 deg), roast the prawn shells for 10 minutes.
5. Remove tin from oven, allow the shells to cool to room temperature.
6. Wrap prawn shells in a cheese cloth tightly, tie up the cheese cloth into a bundle, and pound the shells into as fine as possible in a mortar and pestle. Set aside when done.
7. Score the pork belly fat with a few sharp nips of a pair of kitchen shears. This helps some of the sweet sub-cutaneous fat to escape during the poaching process.
8. Heat up a sauce pan with 1.7 liter of water. Salt the water with a pinch of course sea salt.
9. In simmering water (not rolling boil), slow-poach the pork belly for 30 minutes.
10. Remove the pork belly, and strain the cooking liquids through a fine kitchen towel or a good sieve into another sauce pan or soup pot.
11. Wash the white clams a few times in clean cold water. Remove as much grit as you can, and scrub the shells of any external grit or dirt
12. Set aside the clams in a small pot with enough water just to leave their tips sticking out. 10 minutes before cooking them, tie up all the clams loosely in a cheesecloth.
13. Bring the cooking liquids from the pork belly back to a gentle simmer (around 80-85 deg).
14. Lower the cheese cloth with the prawn shells into the cooking liquids and poach for 30 minutes. This allows the flavors of the prawn shells to leech into the cooking liquid.
15. Lower the cheese cloth with the white clams into the cooking liquid when the prawn shells have been poaching for 20 minutes.
16. Remove both the clams and prawns. You now have the stock base for making the pencai master stock.
Master
Stock Preparation1.
Add the following ingredients into the base stock that you’ve just
prepared, and bring up to a low simmer.
a. 3 large dried oysters
b. 3 large dried scallops
c. 1 leek, sliced
d. 1 thumb young ginger, thinly sliced
e. 1 bulb spring onion/ Tokyo Negi, whites only, thinly sliced
f. Dark Soy 3 tblspn
g. Light Soy 3 tblspn
h. Shaoxing wine 1 tblspn
i. Teochew fish sauce 2 tspn
j. Oyster sauce 2 tblspn
k. 2tbsn sunflower or canola oil
l. Thumb-size rock sugar
m. One pinch coriander seeds, crushed in mortar & pestle, lightly toasted
n. One pinch mustard seeds, crushed in mortar & pestle, lightly toasted
2. Simmer the master stock for 1 hour. Take it off the heat, and strain the master stock into a measuring jug. Add some starch to thicken the stock if desired. You should yield about 1 liter of master stock.
a. 3 large dried oysters
b. 3 large dried scallops
c. 1 leek, sliced
d. 1 thumb young ginger, thinly sliced
e. 1 bulb spring onion/ Tokyo Negi, whites only, thinly sliced
f. Dark Soy 3 tblspn
g. Light Soy 3 tblspn
h. Shaoxing wine 1 tblspn
i. Teochew fish sauce 2 tspn
j. Oyster sauce 2 tblspn
k. 2tbsn sunflower or canola oil
l. Thumb-size rock sugar
m. One pinch coriander seeds, crushed in mortar & pestle, lightly toasted
n. One pinch mustard seeds, crushed in mortar & pestle, lightly toasted
2. Simmer the master stock for 1 hour. Take it off the heat, and strain the master stock into a measuring jug. Add some starch to thicken the stock if desired. You should yield about 1 liter of master stock.
PUTTING
IT TOGETHER1.
In a large claypot, proceed to layer the following ingredients which
you have prepared, leaving out the top layer.
BASE
LAYER-
Duck fat (rendered from roast duck separately) or some lard (to
prevent the base layer from burning during the simmering process)
- 1/2 a small Beijing Cabbage (lightly steamed)
- 1 medium Radish – 1 in thick slices (lightly steamed in soy sauce)
- 1 medium Carrot – 1 in thick slices (lightly steamed)
- 1/2 a small Beijing Cabbage (lightly steamed)
- 1 medium Radish – 1 in thick slices (lightly steamed in soy sauce)
- 1 medium Carrot – 1 in thick slices (lightly steamed)
SECOND
LAYER-
Soy sauce chicken (chicken thighs, poached in light soy sauce with
ginger, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine and rock sugar)
- 500g Roast pork belly (bought or self-prepared) – 1 in pieces
- 1/2 a small Tianjin Cabbage (stir-fried with dried shrimp, light soy, dried scallops, fish sauce, garlic, salt, and Yunnan ham)
- 1 medium Radish – sliced thin cuts <0.5in (steamed in soy sauce)
- 1 medium Carrot – sliced thin <0.5in (steamed)
- 300g Dried Shitake mushrooms – halved (soaked)
- 500g Roast pork belly (bought or self-prepared) – 1 in pieces
- 1/2 a small Tianjin Cabbage (stir-fried with dried shrimp, light soy, dried scallops, fish sauce, garlic, salt, and Yunnan ham)
- 1 medium Radish – sliced thin cuts <0.5in (steamed in soy sauce)
- 1 medium Carrot – sliced thin <0.5in (steamed)
- 300g Dried Shitake mushrooms – halved (soaked)
THIRD
LAYER- 4
small or 2 medium frozen Sea cucumber, soaked/ grit removed, slow
braised 3 hours in light soy, dark soy, sesame oil, chives, leeks,
ginger, and thickened with starch towards the end
- Fresh Abalone, sliced thin
- Dried Oysters (soaked, grit removed) – lightly poached in 85 deg water, 10 minutes
- Dried Scallops (soaked, grit removed) – lightly poached in 85 deg water, 10 minutes
- Dried cuttlefish (soaked, grit removed) – lightly poached in 85 deg water, 10 minutes
- Fresh Abalone, sliced thin
- Dried Oysters (soaked, grit removed) – lightly poached in 85 deg water, 10 minutes
- Dried Scallops (soaked, grit removed) – lightly poached in 85 deg water, 10 minutes
- Dried cuttlefish (soaked, grit removed) – lightly poached in 85 deg water, 10 minutes
TOP
LAYER
- Whole prawns (raw)
- Fa Cai (soaked) – added to the pot in the last 15 minutes of cooking
- Whole prawns (raw)
- Fa Cai (soaked) – added to the pot in the last 15 minutes of cooking
2.
Simmer in low fire, lid on, for 2 hours, adding 100ml of warm water
or chicken broth every 30 minutes.
3. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the top layer (Prawns cook quickly, and you don't want your Facai to get soggy!)
4. Remove the claypot from the fire and allow it to rest, lid open, for 15 minutes before serving directly from the pot. Serve with plain rice, and pair with a rich vintage champagne like Comtes des Tattinger Blanc 2004, or a Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill 2002
3. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the top layer (Prawns cook quickly, and you don't want your Facai to get soggy!)
4. Remove the claypot from the fire and allow it to rest, lid open, for 15 minutes before serving directly from the pot. Serve with plain rice, and pair with a rich vintage champagne like Comtes des Tattinger Blanc 2004, or a Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill 2002