Begonia Stuffed Winter Mushrooms
Traditional Cantonese steamed dish: shiitake mushrooms stuffed with shrimp filling, garnished with crab roe for an elegant presentation.
Ingredients
Dried winter mushrooms (preferably 24 pieces, soak thoroughly and remove stems)
80 g
Pork fat (minced into paste)
50 g
Fresh shrimp meat (minced into paste)
300 g
Crab roe (finely minced for garnish)
40 g
Eggs (use egg whites only)
2
Water chestnuts (minced into paste)
50 g
Baby bok choy hearts (arranged around the edge)
4 slices
Sugar (for cooking the mushrooms)
10 g
White pepper (for seasoning)
a pinch
Wet cornstarch (for glazing)
6 g
Salt (the original text says '10在', suspected typo)
10 g
MSG (for seasoning)
10 g
Chicken broth (for cooking mushrooms and steaming)
to taste
Instructions
1
Preparing the mushrooms
Soak the dried winter mushrooms in hot water until thoroughly softened, then remove the stems. Cook them in a small amount of chicken broth with salt and sugar until done. Discard the broth and pat the mushrooms dry with a clean cloth.
2
Making the filling
Mince the shrimp meat, pork fat, and water chestnuts separately into pastes. Combine them, then add salt, MSG, egg whites, and a small amount of water. Stir well to form the filling.
3
Preparing the crab roe
Finely mince the crab roe.
4
Stuffing the mushrooms
Stuff the prepared filling into the mushroom caps, garnish with minced crab roe on top, and arrange 4 baby bok choy hearts around the edges to form the semi-finished dish.
5
Steaming and glazing
Steam the assembled dish over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove and arrange on a serving plate, then drizzle with a thin cornstarch glaze before serving.
