Butterfly Sea Cucumber

Name: Butterfly Sea Cucumber
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Ingredients: 250 g Soaked sea cucumber (cut lengthwise into 3 pieces (12 total), shaped like butterflies); 30 g Fish meat (soaked in cold water for 10 minutes then finely minced); 20 g Soaked shark fin (used as butterfly antennae); 25 g Soaked shiitake mushrooms (julienned for garnish); to taste Cooked ham (julienned for butterfly mouth); to taste Black sesame seeds (for butterfly eyes); 5 g Refined salt; 10 g Soy sauce; 0.5 g MSG (monosodium glutamate); 10 g Shaoxing wine; to taste Egg white (for mixing fish paste); to taste Dry starch (sprinkled on sea cucumber); to taste Egg crepe (julienned for garnish); to taste Cucumber peel (julienned for garnish); to taste Clear broth (for mixing fish paste and making soup)

A classic Shandong (Lu) cuisine dish. Sea cucumber is trimmed into butterfly shapes, filled with a fish-based mixture, and garnished with ham and shark's fin, resulting in an elegant presentation with a clear broth.

1h 10m

Easy

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Ingredients

Soaked sea cucumber (cut lengthwise into 3 pieces (12 total), shaped like butterflies) 250 g

Fish meat (soaked in cold water for 10 minutes then finely minced) 30 g

Soaked shark fin (used as butterfly antennae) 20 g

Soaked shiitake mushrooms (julienned for garnish) 25 g

Cooked ham (julienned for butterfly mouth) to taste

Black sesame seeds (for butterfly eyes) to taste

Refined salt 5 g

Soy sauce 10 g

MSG (monosodium glutamate) 0.5 g

Shaoxing wine 10 g

Egg white (for mixing fish paste) to taste

Dry starch (sprinkled on sea cucumber) to taste

Egg crepe (julienned for garnish) to taste

Cucumber peel (julienned for garnish) to taste

Clear broth (for mixing fish paste and making soup) to taste

Instructions

Preparing the sea cucumber

Slice each sea cucumber lengthwise into 3 pieces (12 pieces total), blanch briefly in boiling water, remove and pat dry with a clean cloth, then shape into butterflies.

Preparing the fish paste

Soak the fish meat in cold water for 10 minutes, then remove and finely mince. Place in a bowl, add refined salt, MSG, clear broth, and egg white, and mix well into a fish paste.

Shaping

Place the sea cucumbers skin-side up on a plate, sprinkle dry starch in the middle, then use the fish paste to form butterfly bodies and lay them horizontally across the center of the sea cucumbers. Use black sesame seeds at the head end for the eyes, attach ham strips for the mouth, shark fin for the antennae, and julienne the shiitake mushrooms, egg crepe, and cucumber peel into 2 cm long by 0.2 cm wide strips, arranging them by color on the butterfly bodies to make 12 'butterflies'.

Steaming

Steam until cooked through, then remove.

Making the broth

Place the clear broth in a wok and bring to a rolling boil over high heat, skim off the foam, add Shaoxing wine, refined salt, MSG, and soy sauce to taste, pour into a soup bowl, then gently slide the steamed 'butterfly sea cucumbers' into the broth to finish.