Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions
A classic Shandong specialty made with Zhangqiu scallions and sea cucumber, with a reddish-brown color, rich scallion aroma, and a savory, umami flavor with a hint of sweetness.
Ingredients
rehydrated sea cucumber
100 g
Zhangqiu scallions
200 g
soy sauce
25 g
clear chicken broth
250 g
Shaoxing wine
20 g
rendered pork lard
125 g
MSG
3 g
wet cornstarch
50 g
fine salt
4 g
ginger
25 g
sugar
15 g
caramel coloring
3 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Rinse the sea cucumber with water and slice it into oblique pieces 1.7–2.5 cm wide. Fill a soup ladle with cold water, add the sea cucumber, bring to a boil over high heat, cook through, then remove and drain well. Cut the scallion whites into 4 cm long segments. Smash the ginger with the flat of a knife and set aside.
2
Step 2
Heat 125 g of pork lard in a wok until it reaches about 60% hot (roughly 150°C). Add 150 g of scallion segments and fry until golden yellow, then remove. Reserve the scallion-infused oil.
3
Step 3
In a soup ladle, combine the clear broth, scallions, ginger, 2 g of the salt, 10 g of the Shaoxing wine, 10 g of the soy sauce, 5 g of the sugar, and the sea cucumber. Bring to a boil over high heat, then transfer to low heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Pour through a sieve to drain off the liquid and discard the scallions and ginger.
4
Step 4
Add 50 g of pork lard to a wok along with the fried scallion segments, the remaining 2 g of salt, the sea cucumber, broth, sugar, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and caramel coloring. Bring to a boil, then move to low heat and simmer for 2–3 minutes. Once two-thirds of the liquid has reduced, return to high heat and stir in the MSG. While tossing the wok, thicken with the wet cornstarch slurry, then finish over medium heat to fully reduce the sauce. Drizzle with the reserved scallion oil and transfer to a serving plate.
