Chestnut and Chinese Cabbage
A classic Shandong (Lu) cuisine dish with a savory fragrance and tender texture. Chestnuts are braised together with Chinese cabbage, giving the dish its signature golden color.
Ingredients
Chestnut (cut a small cross slit in each, cook until tender, peel and cut each chestnut kernel in half)
100 g
Chinese cabbage (remove roots and tough outer stems, split each head in half, cut into 7 cm long and 1 cm wide strips, make a few vertical cuts at the root end to keep the inner leaves connected)
300 g
Lard
25 g
Soy sauce
10 g
Fine salt
2 g
Cooking wine
5 g
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
2 g
White sugar
5 g
Water starch (for thickening)
10 g
Chopped green onion
2 g
Ginger juice
a pinch
Vegetable oil (for frying Chinese cabbage)
500 g (actual consumption 50 g)
Instructions
1
Step 1
Remove the roots and tough outer stems from the Chinese cabbage, split each head in half, and cut into 7 cm long and 1 cm wide strips (make a few vertical cuts at the root end to keep the entire inner cabbage head connected). Cut a small cross slit in each chestnut with scissors, put into a pot and cook until tender. Remove from the pot, peel, and cut each chestnut kernel in half.
2
Step 2
Pour the vegetable oil into a pot and heat until hot. Add the Chinese cabbage and fry briefly, then remove and drain off excess oil.
3
Step 3
Add lard to the pot and heat. Scatter the chopped green onion into the hot lard to release its fragrance. Add stock, soy sauce, cooking wine, MSG, white sugar, fine salt, Chinese cabbage, and chestnuts, bring to a boil. Transfer to low heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes until part of the cooking liquid reduces and the chestnuts are soft. Thicken the sauce with water starch, drizzle with clear oil, and serve.
