Chun Su (Spring Crisp Platter)
Chun Su (Spring Crisp)
A traditional Nanjing spring first course, this dish uses early spring "three wild herbs" (chrysanthemum shoots, goji tip shoots, and malantou) paired with a variety of meat and vegetable ingredients. The components are prepared via braising, stir-frying, deep-frying, and steaming, then stacked into a pagoda shape for serving.
Ingredients
duck tongues
20
cooked pork fat (finely diced)
25 g
pork kidneys (sinews removed, scored)
3
peeled water chestnuts (finely diced)
300 g
pork caul fat
200 g
shelled walnut kernels
200 g
duck gizzards
4
chrysanthemum leaves (chrysanthemum sprouts)
150 g
cooked ham
100 g
kalimeris leaves (Indian aster)
150 g
mature lotus root (grated, starch rinsed away)
200 g
minced ham
15 g
pork liver (sliced)
150 g
MSG
30 g
pork brains (membrane removed)
3
fine salt
20 g
peeled shrimp (chopped into paste)
200 g
Shaoxing wine
25 g
eggs (whites and yolks for batter)
4
dry starch
5 g
flour
100 g
soy sauce
150 g
peanut oil (actual consumption unknown)
500 g
sugar
150 g
star anise
1
scallions (tied into knots)
2
spring bamboo shoots (cut into chunks)
500 g
ginger (smashed)
1
wolfberry leaves
150 g
rendered pork fat (actual consumption unknown)
1000 g
rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms
100 g
sesame oil
200 g
black sesame seeds
15 g
meat broth (mentioned in step 9)
750 g
Instructions
1
Process duck gizzards and kidneys
Cut each duck gizzard into 4 pieces with cross-hatched cuts to about 4/5 depth. Remove the sinews from the pork kidneys, score both sides with 3 to 4 cuts, blanch in boiling water to wash away blood, remove and rinse, then place on a plate for later braising.
2
Make caul fat liver rolls
Place pork liver on a cutting board, slice thinly on the bias, transfer to a bowl, and marinate with Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and MSG. Spread pork caul fat on the cutting board, dust with dry flour, and pat flat with the hands. Roll the marinated pork liver into 2 rolls, steam over high heat until cooked through, then remove and let cool for later use.
3
Prepare shrimp paste
Chop the shrimp into a paste and place in a bowl. Reserve a small amount of the shrimp paste in another small bowl for later. Dice cooked pork fat into millet-grain size and add to the main shrimp paste bowl. Finely dice the water chestnuts and add to the same bowl. Add fine salt, MSG, Shaoxing wine, and beaten egg whites, mix well, then add dry starch and stir until the mixture becomes firm and cohesive.
4
Prepare auxiliary ingredients
Split each shiitake mushroom in half with a knife. Cut the spring bamboo shoots into large rolling-cut chunks. Smash the ginger with the flat of the knife, and tie the scallions into knots for later use.
5
Make ham sandwiches
Cut the cooked ham into pieces 3 cm long, 2 cm wide, and 0.3 cm thick (first cut not all the way through, second cut all the way through) to form 10 ham sandwiches. Mix the reserved shrimp paste with 5 g sugar until even, spread between the ham sandwiches, dip in black sesame seeds, and arrange on a plate.
6
Make water chestnut flowers
With a bamboo skewer, make a ring of cross-hatched punctures around the outside of each water chestnut. Pry them open by hand into two chrysanthemum-cake shapes, dot a small amount of minced ham in the center, and place on a plate for later use.
7
Make lotus root crisps
Grate the lotus root using a grater, rinse once with water to wash away the starch, and squeeze out the excess water. Add a pinch of fine salt and MSG and mix well. Pinch off a small amount with the right hand, dip in a little sesame seeds, place on the middle three fingers of the left hand, press down with two fingers of the right hand, then with the three fingers of the left hand flick upward to shape into a brush-rest form, and arrange on a plate.
8
Fry walnuts and lotus root crisps
Place a wok over heat, add 500 g peanut oil, and heat to about 40 percent hot. Drop in the walnut kernels and fry until golden yellow, then remove and cool. When the oil reaches about 70 percent hot, slip the lotus root paste in one piece at a time and fry until grayish white, then remove. When the oil reaches about 80 percent hot, refry the lotus root pieces until grayish yellow, drain, and cool for later use.
9
Braise the meats
Place a soup pot over heat, add 750 g meat broth along with soy sauce, sugar, Shaoxing wine, scallions, ginger, and star anise, and bring to a boil. Braise the duck gizzards, kidneys, duck tongues, and cooked eggs until a deep yellow color, then remove. Stir-fry the duck gizzards, kidneys, duck tongues, and braised eggs separately with sesame oil to glaze, and divide into 4 bowls.
10
Cook the vegetables
Place the spring bamboo shoots in a soup pot, add 250 g water, put over heat, add fine salt and MSG, cook until done, remove and place in a bowl, then drizzle with a little sesame oil. Add the shiitake mushrooms to the soup pot with a little fine salt and MSG, cook until done, remove and place in another bowl, then drizzle with a little sesame oil.
11
Fry shrimp balls
Place a wok over heat, add 500 g rendered pork fat and heat to about 60 percent hot. Squeeze the prepared shrimp paste into 16 small balls, drop into the oil and fry until silver white, then remove. When the oil temperature rises to about 60 percent hot again, refry the shrimp balls until slightly yellow, drain, and arrange on a plate.
12
Fry liver rolls and ham sandwiches
Place a wok over heat again, add 500 g rendered pork fat and heat to about 60 percent hot. Coat the caul fat liver rolls with egg-flour batter, drop into the oil and fry until pale yellow, then remove. When the oil reaches about 70 percent hot, refry until golden yellow, drain, and place on a plate. Then drop in the ham sandwiches, fry until the shrimp paste turns white, drain, and arrange on a plate.
13
Prepare pork brains
Peel the membrane off the pork brains, wash clean, marinate with 2.5 g salt for 1 minute, blanch in boiling water until just cooked, remove and place in a wok over heat, add soy sauce, sugar, and MSG, and when the brains turn golden yellow, add a little sesame oil to glaze, then place in a bowl.
14
Stir-fry kalimeris leaves
Place a wok over heat, add 25 g peanut oil, when hot add the kalimeris leaves and stir-fry briefly, then add fine salt, sugar, MSG, and Shaoxing wine, toss the wok, add a little sesame oil, and transfer to a plate.
15
Stir-fry chrysanthemum leaves
Place a wok over heat again, add 25 g peanut oil, when hot add the chrysanthemum leaves and stir-fry briefly, then add fine salt, sugar, MSG, and Shaoxing wine, toss the wok, add a little sesame oil, and transfer to a plate.
16
Stir-fry wolfberry leaves
Place a wok over heat again, add 25 g peanut oil, when hot add the wolfberry leaves and stir-fry briefly, then add fine salt, sugar, MSG, and Shaoxing wine, toss the wok, add a little sesame oil, and transfer to a plate.
17
Steam the prepared components
Steam the duck gizzards, duck tongues, kidneys, braised eggs, pork brains, spring bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and water chestnut flowers until piping hot, and set aside for assembly.
18
Final assembly
Take a 16-inch large round plate. First, place the kalimeris leaves in the center as a base. Place the chrysanthemum leaves next to the kalimeris leaves. Place the wolfberry leaves opposite. Cut the braised eggs into slices and arrange neatly next to the kalimeris leaves. Place the spring bamboo shoots opposite the braised eggs. Slice the braised kidneys and place next to the chrysanthemum leaves. Slice the duck gizzards and arrange next to the wolfberry leaves. Pile the shiitake mushrooms next to the spring bamboo shoots. Arrange the duck tongues next to the braised eggs. Cut the pork brains into pieces and place next to the chrysanthemum leaves. Place the fried liver rolls on top of the wolfberry leaves. Stack the shrimp balls and lotus root crisps in order on top, with the ham sandwiches around the upper layer, place the walnut kernels at the very top as a crown, and ring the water chestnut flowers around the bottom edge.
