Braised Vegetable Hearts
A classic clay-pot stew featuring Nanjing dwarf yellow bok choy hearts as the main ingredient, combined with ham, winter bamboo shoots, and sliced chicken.
Ingredients
Baby bok choy hearts (peel stems into olive shapes, score cross patterns)
600 g
Chicken broth
500 g
Cooked pork fat (small amount actually used, for blanching)
750 g
Chicken breast (sliced into willow-leaf pieces)
60 g
Cooked ham slices
30 g
Winter bamboo shoots (sliced)
30 g
Rehydrated winter mushroom slices
15 g
Shrimp meat
25 g
Egg white (for mixing with chicken)
half
Dry starch (for mixing with chicken)
3 g
Shaoxing wine
10 g
MSG
1.5 g
Salt
3 g
Cooked chicken oil
15 g
Instructions
1
Preparing the vegetable hearts
Wash the baby bok choy hearts, peel the stems into olive shapes, and score cross-shaped patterns. Then trim the leaves evenly and use only the 10 cm long hearts.
2
Preparing the chicken slices
Cut the chicken breast into willow-leaf pieces about 4.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. Place in a bowl, add the egg white and dry starch, and mix well.
3
Blanching in oil
Heat a wok over high heat and add the cooked pork fat. When the oil reaches 40% hot, add the vegetable hearts and blanch until half-cooked, then remove and drain. Next, pass the chicken slices through the oil and remove them once they turn white.
4
Stewing
In a clay pot, arrange the vegetable hearts with their roots pointing toward the pot edge and the leaf tips toward the center. Then lay the ham slices, bamboo shoot slices, mushroom slices, and chicken slices in a circular pattern on top of the vegetable hearts, with the shrimp at the center. Add the salt, Shaoxing wine, MSG, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Drizzle with the cooked chicken oil before serving.
