Butterfly Bone with Braised Eel

Name: Butterfly Bone with Braised Eel
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Ingredients: 750 g Eel meat (cut into long segments); 1 Pork butterfly bone (butterfly bone removed from pork hind leg); 10 g Soaked shiitake mushrooms (sliced); 25 g Cooked bamboo shoot slices; 35 g Shaoxing wine; 30 g Soy sauce; 10 g Sugar; 15 g Green onion (minced); 10 g Ginger (minced); 5 g Sesame oil (for drizzling); 500 g Soybean oil (75 g actually used, for deep-frying); to taste Pork broth (for braising eel segments)

Eel meat is braised together with pork hind-leg butterfly shank until both turn a deep soy-red. The butterfly shank becomes tender and falling-off-the-bone, the eel turns soft and flaky with the flavor fully absorbed, and the braising sauce reduces to a thick, glossy glaze.

1h 25m

Easy

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Ingredients

Eel meat (cut into long segments) 750 g

Pork butterfly bone (butterfly bone removed from pork hind leg) 1

Soaked shiitake mushrooms (sliced) 10 g

Cooked bamboo shoot slices 25 g

Shaoxing wine 35 g

Soy sauce 30 g

Sugar 10 g

Green onion (minced) 15 g

Ginger (minced) 10 g

Sesame oil (for drizzling) 5 g

Soybean oil (75 g actually used, for deep-frying) 500 g

Pork broth (for braising eel segments) to taste

Instructions

Preparing the Butterfly Bone

Place the butterfly bone removed from the pork hind leg into a pot of water and boil to remove the scum, then remove and rinse clean. Transfer to a wok, add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sugar, and water, cover and bring to a boil, then move to low heat and simmer until the broth thickens. Pour into a bowl, cover with a round plate, and steam until tender and falling apart.

Deep-frying the Eel

Place a wok over heat until hot, add soybean oil and heat to about 80% hot (approximately 200°C). Add the eel meat and deep-fry for 3 minutes, then remove. Once the oil temperature returns to 80% hot (approximately 200°C), return the eel and fry again for 2 minutes. Drain off the oil, then cut into 6.5 cm segments.

Braising the Eel Segments

Return the wok to high heat, add soybean oil, and sauté the minced green onions until fragrant. Add the eel segments, pork broth, Shaoxing wine, and minced ginger, cover and move to a low flame to braise for 10 minutes. Add soy sauce, sugar, shiitake slices, and bamboo shoot slices, cover the wok, and braise until the eel meat is tender and falling apart.