Braised Soft-Shell Turtle

Name: Braised Soft-Shell Turtle
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 40 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 (about 1000 g) Live soft-shell turtle (cleaned of all blood, scalded to remove the black skin); 1 (about 1250 g) Fat hen (organs removed, cut into pieces the same size as the turtle); 75 g Shaoxing wine; 20 g Scallion segments; 10 g Ginger chunks; 4 g Fine salt; 3 g MSG; 2 g White pepper; 50 g Soy sauce; 75 g Sichuan pepper oil; 10 g Sesame oil; 1750 g Pork bone broth

A traditional famous braised dish of soft-shelled turtle and fatty hen, with tender, delicious meat that nourishes yin and tonifies the kidney.

2h 20m

Easy

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Ingredients

Live soft-shell turtle (cleaned of all blood, scalded to remove the black skin) 1 (about 1000 g)

Fat hen (organs removed, cut into pieces the same size as the turtle) 1 (about 1250 g)

Shaoxing wine 75 g

Scallion segments 20 g

Ginger chunks 10 g

Fine salt 4 g

MSG 3 g

White pepper 2 g

Soy sauce 50 g

Sichuan pepper oil 75 g

Sesame oil 10 g

Pork bone broth 1750 g

Instructions

Prepare the turtle

Place the live soft-shell turtle on its back on a cutting board. The moment it stretches its neck out to flip over, immediately grip its neck with your fingers and chop off the head and neck together with a knife. After draining all the blood, rinse clean, then place into a pot of boiling water, cover with a lid, and cook for 15 minutes before removing. Use a knife to scrape off the black skin from the body, and chop off the tail and the claws' nails. Use the knife to score around the edge of the back shell, lift off the back shell, scoop out the innards and belly fat, then rinse clean again with water. Finally, cut the turtle into 3.3 cm cubes.

Prepare the hen

Slit open the fat hen along the backbone, remove the organs and the crop, chop off the wing tips and feet, rinse clean with water, and cut into pieces the same size as the turtle. Blanch the cut turtle and chicken pieces separately in pots of boiling water to wash away all the blood foam, then rinse briefly with clean water.

Slow simmer

Place the turtle and chicken pieces into a pot, add the pork bone broth, scallion segments, ginger chunks, and Shaoxing wine. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer until completely tender.

Braise

Heat a wok until hot, add Sichuan pepper oil along with scallions and ginger, and stir-fry until golden. Pour in the original broth (from simmering the turtle and chicken), then add soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, MSG, and fine salt. Place the turtle and chicken pieces into the wok and braise over medium heat for five to six minutes. Once the sauce has reduced and thickened, drizzle with sesame oil and serve.