|
Day 1
¼ lb shark's fin
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup Superior Stock
¼ cup Shao-Hsing wine or dry sherry
2 oz lard or peanut oil
One ½-inch-thick slice fresh ginger,
lightly smashed
3 scallions, white parts only
4 whole abalone
1 cup Superior Stock
2 tablespoons Shao-Hsing wine or dry
sherry
4 dry scallops, each 1 inch in diameter
2 tablespoons Shao-Hsing wine or dry
sherry, for scallops
12 quail eggs
3 small fresh bamboo shoots (1½ lbs)
1 quart cold water, for bamboo shoots
One 4-lb chicken
¼ cup salt
One 4-lb duck
¼ cup salt
1½ lbs pork feet (3 halves), each half
cut into 4 pieces by butcher
2 lbs lamb fillet
2½ lbs pork (fresh ham)
1 lb Smithfield ham
2 quarts cold water, for Smithfield ham
12 Chinese black mushrooms
Day 2
3½ cups peanut oil
2½ lbs Chinese turnips, peeled, both
ends discarded, cut into 4 pieces lengthwise, then into
1-inch pieces
1 lb carrots (3 large), peeled, cut into
1-inch sections
Four 3-inch-long cinnamon sticks
4 pieces eight-star anise
6 scallions, trimmed and cut into thirds
5 cups Shao-Hsing wine or dry sherry
7 cups Chicken Stock
6 ozs rock sugar (rock candy)
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons double dark soy
sauce, regular dark soy sauce, or mushroom soy sauce
1 cup Superior Stock or Chicken Stock
4 bamboo leaves, soaked in hot water for
20 minutes, until softened, and washed
1 large lotus leaf, soaked in hot water
for 20 minutes until softened, washed, and dried
|
|
Method:
Day 1
To prepare the shark's fin, the night
before, soak the fins in a bowl of water with the white vinegar for at
least 4-6 hours, rinse, and drain. Place the soaked shark's fins
in a steamproof dish with the stock, wine, lard, ginger and scallions
and steam for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, discard the ginger
and scallions, strain off and discard the liquid, and reserve
overnight, refrigerated.
To prepare the abalone, the night before
(at the same time you soak the shark's fins), wash the abalone, place
in a pot with 3 quarts water, bring to a boil over medium heat, lower
the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow
to rest in the liquid in the pot overnight. Place the abalone in
a steamproof dish with the stock and wine and steam for 1½ to 2 hours,
until softened. Discard the liquid and reserve the abalone
overnight, refrigerated.
To prepare the scallops, place the
scallops and wine in a steamproof dish and steam for 20 minutes, until
softened. Turn off the heat, discard the liquid, and reserve the
scallops overnight, refrigerated.
To prepare the quail eggs, cook them in
boiling water for about 7 minutes, until hard-boiled. Remove
from the pot and cool. Shell and reserve overnight,
refrigerated. Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come to
room temperature on Day 2.
To prepare the bamboo shoots, remove all
outer husks down to the tender, cream-white core. Place the
whole shoots in a pot with the water, cover, and bring to a boil over
high heat. If very tender, simmer for 7 minutes; if a bit tough,
simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, run cold water into
the pot, and drain. Allow to cool, cut each shoot
lengthwise into 4 pieces, and reserve overnight, refrigerated.
To prepare the chicken, wash and remove
the fat and membranes. Rinse under cold running water and drain.
Sprinkle the outside with the salt and rub in well. Rinse,
drain, and dry. Cut the chicken into 12 pieces and reserve
overnight, refrigerated.
To prepare the duck, prepare precisely
as the chicken in the preceding step.
To prepare the pork feet, cut up the
pork feet, if necessary, and reserve overnight, refrigerated.
To prepare the lamb and pork, cut the
lamb into 12 equal pieces and reserve refrigerated, overnight.
Cut the pork into 12 equal pieces and reserve refrigerated, overnight.
To prepare the Smithfield ham, place the
ham and the water in a pot, cover, and bring to a boil over medium
heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat, allow to rest in the liquid, and return to room
temperature. Remove, discard the liquid, cut into 12 equal
pieces, and reserve, refrigerated, overnight.
To prepare the mushrooms, soak the
mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes, until softened. Wash,
drain, remove the stems, and reserve overnight, refrigerated.
Day 2
Heat a wok over high heat for 1 minute.
Add the peanut oil and heat to 350°F. Place the turnips in a
Chinese strainer and lower into the oil. Blanch for 2 minutes,
remove, drain over a bowl, and reserve. Bring the oil back to
350°F, blanch the carrots and bamboo shoots similarly for 3 minutes,
remove and drain, and reserve. Bring the oil agian to 350°F, add
the quail eggs to the wok, and deep-fry for 2 minutes or until the
eggs brown lightly. Remove, strain, and reserve.
Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the oil
from the wok and set aside. Heat the wok over high heat for 20
seconds. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add 2 cinnamon
sticks, 2 pieces of star anise, and half the scallions. Stir-fry
until the fragrance is released, about 1 minute. Add the
reserved chicken and duck, stir, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn
off the heat, remove the entire contents of the wok to a bowl, and
reserve.
Wash the wok and spatula. Heat the
wok over high heat for 1 minute. Add the 3 tablespoons of the
reserved peanut oil and coat the wok with it using a spatula.
When a wisp of white smoke appears, add the remaining cinnamon, anise,
and scallions and stir for 1 minute. Add the pork feet, lamb,
and pork and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Place the contents of the wok into a
large pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and rock sugar and stir.
Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add ½ cup of the soy
sauce and stir well. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Raise the heat to high, add the reserved chicken and duck and the
contents of the bowl, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the
heat. Allow all the contents of the pot to rest in the liquid
for 10 minutes. Empty the contents into a bowl, including the
cooking liquid, discard the scallions, and allow to cool sufficiently
to handle.
While all the meats are cooking, place
the reserved blanched turnips, carrots, and bamboo shoots in a wok.
Add the superior stock. Raise the heat to high, mix well,
stirring, and bring to a boil. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons
soy sauce and stir. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat, strain, and reserve. Reserve the liquid for
another use.
Wrap the reserved shark's fin, abalone,
scallops, and Smithfield ham in cheesecloth. Sew or tie to
close.
For this final step, a large pot, about
3-gallon capacity, should be used. Pour 2 cups of reserved
cooking liquid from the bowl into the pot. Place a rack on the
bottom and cover with bamboo leaves trimmed to fit the shape of the
rack. Begin layering the ingredients.
Place the pork feet in a single layer on
the bamboo leaf-lined rack. Place a single layer of lamb atop
the pork feet. Place a single layer of chicken atop the lamb.
Place a single layer of duck atop the chicken. Place a single
layer of pork atop the duck. Place the cheesecloth bundle atop
the pork. Ladle 1 quart of cooking liquid over the layers.
Place the mushrooms over the bundle. Layer the turnips, carrots,
and bamboo shoots over the mushrooms. Pour the remaining liquid,
including the spices, over the top. Lay the lotus leaf over the
top of the pot. Place the pot cover on the leaf to seal the pot.
Over low heat, allow the contents of the
pot to simmer for 1¼ to 1½ hours. Turn off the heat and allow
the pot to rest for 10 minutes. Remove all the foods from the
pot to a large heated serving platter. Garnish the platter with
the quail eggs. Place the liquid, now a rich broth, in a heated
tureen. Remove the cheesecloth bundle to another heated plate,
discard the cheesecloth, remove the contents, slice the abalone thinly
and arrange it with the other ingredients as an accompaniment.
Serve in the Chinese manner; the meats
and vegetables together, with some of the broth poured over them, the
rest of the broth divided into bowls to drink.
Note: Traditionally,
Buddha Jumps over the Wall is served with a selection of five special
accompaniments, these to complete the feast and to offer tastes that
complement the central dish of the feast. Following are those
traditional dishes, as prepared and eaten in Fuzhou. Each of the
dishes yields six servings, but since they are meant to accompany
Buddha Jumps over the Wall, they will be eaten casually and thus are
adequate for twelve. It has been suggested that even these
dishes would be enough to have Buddha jump a wall. They might.
|