Crispy Squab with Celery
Marinate the squab and fry until golden, then nestle it among the stalks, add broth, and simmer gently over low heat until the sauce is rich and the meat falls off the bone.
Ingredients
Squab (feet removed, body pounded loose with a knife)
5
Black vinegar
30 g
Shaoxing wine
30 g
Celery (roots and leaves removed, washed, cut into 5 cm segments)
400 g
Sesame oil
100 g
Fine salt
20 g
Chicken broth
300 g
MSG
3 g
Peanut oil (about 100 g actually used)
1000 g
Rock sugar (crushed fine)
30 g
Soy sauce
30 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Remove the feet from the squab and pound the body loose with a knife. Place in a bowl, add 10 g salt, 15 g soy sauce, and 15 g Shaoxing wine, rub and mix until evenly coated, and marinate for 30 minutes. Trim away the roots and leaves of the celery, wash it well, and cut into 5 cm segments.
2
Step 2
Set a wok over high heat and add the peanut oil. Heat to about 150°C (50% hot), add the squab and deep-fry until deep red, then remove and drain off the oil. Pour out the frying oil, spread 300 g celery across the bottom of the wok, lay the squab on top, then cover with the remaining 100 g celery. Pour in the chicken broth and add 10 g salt, 15 g soy sauce, the black vinegar, the crushed rock sugar, the MSG, the sesame oil, and 15 g Shaoxing wine. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and braise for 1 hour until the sauce is reduced. Transfer to a serving dish with the celery arranged around the base, place the squab on top with the heads facing outward in a neat arrangement, and pour the reduced sauce over the squab to serve.
