Caifeng Huai Tai (Stuffed Pheasant)
Made with wild chicken as the main ingredient, stuffed with konjac tofu and other fillings, then steamed with chicken broth poured in.
Ingredients
pheasant (slaughtered, bled, plucked, claws and wing tips removed, deboned whole)
1
konjac tofu (diced, blanched in boiling water for 10 minutes)
to taste
pork loin (diced)
to taste
rehydrated dried mushrooms (diced)
30 g
winter bamboo shoots (diced)
70 g
Yunnan ham (diced)
20 g
rendered pork fat
40 g
Shaoxing wine
15 g
chicken broth
500 g
sesame oil
10 g
ginger juice
5 g
white pepper
2 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Slaughter and bleed the pheasant, pluck the feathers, chop off the claws and wing tips. Make a 3 cm opening at the neck and remove the viscera and bones, fully deboning the bird, then rinse thoroughly in clean water. Blanch the konjac tofu in boiling water for 10 minutes to firm it up and remove any off-odors. Dice the konjac tofu, pork loin, mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, and Yunnan ham into 6 mm cubes.
2
Step 2
Place a wok over medium heat, add the rendered pork fat, and stir-fry the Yunnan ham and pork loin until the moisture evaporates. Add the mushrooms and bamboo shoots, then season with 4 g salt, the Shaoxing wine, 1 g MSG, and the ginger juice, and stir until well combined. Drain off the oil, let the filling cool slightly, then fold in the konjac tofu. Pack the filling into the cavity of the deboned pheasant and tie a knot at the neck end to seal it. Use an awl to poke dozens of small holes through the skin to release steam, then briefly blanch the stuffed bird in boiling water to set its shape.
3
Step 3
Pour the chicken broth into a soup bowl and season with 6 g salt, 2 g MSG, and 1 g white pepper. Place the stuffed pheasant in the broth and steam over high heat for 3 hours, until the pheasant is completely tender. Drizzle the sesame oil over the top and serve.
