Braised Sea Cucumber
A traditional Fujian dish of rehydrated sea cucumber braised with winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and scallion whites—tender and glutinous in texture with a rich, savory sauce.
Ingredients
Rehydrated sea cucumber (cut into long strips; thumb-sized large sea cucumbers cut into 4 strips)
500 g
Lean pork (sliced)
50 g
Peeled bamboo shoots (cut into diamond-shaped slices)
50 g
Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms (cut into diamond-shaped slices)
50 g
Scallion whites
100 g
Soy sauce
to taste
Cooking wine
to taste
Sugar
to taste
Wet cornstarch
to taste
MSG
a pinch
Sesame oil
a pinch
Superior stock
250 g
Peanut oil (for flash-frying)
500 g (about 100 g used)
Instructions
1
Prepare ingredients
Cut the sea cucumber into long strips, slice the pork, and cut the shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots into diamond-shaped slices.
2
Blanch
Blanch the sea cucumber and bamboo shoots in a pot of boiling water, then remove and drain well.
3
Flash-fry
Place a wok over high heat. When the peanut oil reaches about 60% hot (roughly 180°C), flash-fry the sea cucumber, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and scallion whites together for 30 seconds, then pour into a strainer and drain off the oil.
4
Braise
Leave a little oil in the wok and place over medium heat. First add the pork slices and stir-fry a few times, then add the flash-fried sea cucumber and other main ingredients. Season with appropriate amounts of soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and superior stock, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Once the sea cucumber is well flavored, add MSG, thicken with wet cornstarch, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve.
