Dragon Lady's String of Pearls
A traditional dish steamed with golden-silk carp and Hunan white lotus as the main ingredients, featuring an elegant presentation and vibrant colors.
Ingredients
Gold-silk carp (scaled and gilled, cut open from the belly to remove the innards)
1 (about 1000g)
Soaked, cored Xiang lotus seeds (washed and steamed until 70% cooked)
200g
Lean ham (cut into comb-shaped slices 3cm long, 1cm wide, and 0.7cm thick)
20g
Pork fat (cut into comb-shaped slices 3cm long, 1cm wide, and 0.7cm thick)
50g
Fine salt
5g
MSG
1g
Cooking wine
25g
White pepper powder
1g
Ginger (5g crushed for juice, 5g crushed, 10g minced)
20g
Scallion (5g crushed for juice, 5g knotted)
10g
Vinegar (for the dipping dish)
25g
Chicken broth
100g
Chicken fat
20g
Instructions
1
Preparing the ingredients
Scale and gill the fish, slit open the belly to remove the innards, blanch briefly in boiling water, then remove. Score a crosshatch pattern on the fish every 2cm. Cut both the pork fat and the lean ham into comb-shaped slices 3cm long, 1cm wide, and 0.7cm thick. Crush 5g of scallion and 5g of ginger together with the cooking wine to extract the juice; tie the remaining scallion into a knot, crush another 5g of ginger, mince the rest of the ginger, and place them together in a small dish. Wash the Xiang lotus seeds and steam until 70% cooked, then set aside.
2
Marinating and plating
Place the carp in a serving plate, add the fine salt, MSG, and scallion-ginger juice, and marinate for 15 minutes. Then stuff the lotus seeds into the fish cavity until full, tuck one lotus seed into each intersection of the crosshatch cuts, and arrange any remaining lotus seeds around the body of the fish.
3
Arranging toppings and steaming
Lay the pork fat slices on the fish at 1cm intervals, place the ham slices in the gaps between them, set the crushed scallion and ginger on top, pour in the chicken broth, and steam over boiling water for 25 minutes before removing.
4
Final seasoning and serving
Discard the scallion, ginger, and pork fat, sprinkle with the white pepper powder, drizzle the chicken fat along the edge, and serve immediately accompanied by a small dish of ginger and vinegar.
