Eight Treasures Soft-Shelled Turtle

Name: Eight Treasures Soft-Shelled Turtle
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Ingredients: 1 (approx 750 g) Live soft-shelled turtle (slaughtered, soaked in hot water to remove mucus, scrape off the black skin on the skirt edge, remove fish bones); 50 g Glutinous rice (washed clean, steamed in a steamer); 30 g Fresh bamboo shoots (cut into dice); 25 g Cooked ham (cut into dice); 15 g Soaked dried shiitake mushrooms (whole mushrooms used to line the bottom of the bowl); 15 g Coix seed (washed clean, steamed in a steamer); 15 g Euryale seed (washed clean, steamed in a steamer); 20 g Yellow sponge cake (cut into dice); 15 g Green peas; 5 g Shrimp roe; 25 g Scallion (for frying to release aroma); 15 g Ginger (for frying to release aroma); 40 g Shaoxing wine (for cooking); 3 g Cinnamon (for cooking the turtle); 3 g Star anise (for cooking the turtle); 10 g Salt; 25 g Soy sauce; 10 g White sugar (for cooking the turtle and mixing the eight treasures filling); 35 g Rendered lard (for frying scallion and ginger to release aroma, and mixing the eight treasures filling); 15 g Garlic (cloves, for blanching to surround the dish as garnish); 25 g Starch (for thickening sauce); 25 g Sesame oil (for drizzling over the dish at the end); 2 g White pepper powder (to sprinkle over the turtle meat); to taste Water (for cooking the turtle meat); to taste Original broth (the broth left after cooking the turtle)

八宝鼋鱼

A traditional famous dish from Jiangsu, this recipe uses deboned soft-shelled turtle stuffed with eight-treasure ingredients including glutinous rice, Job's tears, gorgon fruit, cured ham, and dried shiitake mushrooms, then steamed. The turtle meat is fragrant, soft, glutinous and tender enough to fall apart, while the eight-treasure filling has a fresh, mellow, well-balanced flavor. The dish is also valued for its benefit of nourishing yin and strengthening the spleen.

2h 10m

Easy

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Ingredients

Live soft-shelled turtle (slaughtered, soaked in hot water to remove mucus, scrape off the black skin on the skirt edge, remove fish bones) 1 (approx 750 g)

Glutinous rice (washed clean, steamed in a steamer) 50 g

Fresh bamboo shoots (cut into dice) 30 g

Cooked ham (cut into dice) 25 g

Soaked dried shiitake mushrooms (whole mushrooms used to line the bottom of the bowl) 15 g

Coix seed (washed clean, steamed in a steamer) 15 g

Euryale seed (washed clean, steamed in a steamer) 15 g

Yellow sponge cake (cut into dice) 20 g

Green peas 15 g

Shrimp roe 5 g

Scallion (for frying to release aroma) 25 g

Ginger (for frying to release aroma) 15 g

Shaoxing wine (for cooking) 40 g

Cinnamon (for cooking the turtle) 3 g

Star anise (for cooking the turtle) 3 g

Salt 10 g

Soy sauce 25 g

White sugar (for cooking the turtle and mixing the eight treasures filling) 10 g

Rendered lard (for frying scallion and ginger to release aroma, and mixing the eight treasures filling) 35 g

Garlic (cloves, for blanching to surround the dish as garnish) 15 g

Starch (for thickening sauce) 25 g

Sesame oil (for drizzling over the dish at the end) 25 g

White pepper powder (to sprinkle over the turtle meat) 2 g

Water (for cooking the turtle meat) to taste

Original broth (the broth left after cooking the turtle) to taste

Instructions

Prepare the soft-shelled turtle

Slaughter the live soft-shelled turtle, first soak it in 90°C hot water to remove surface mucus, then put it in a pot of water to boil, take it out, scrape off the black skin on the skirt edge, and remove the fish bones.

Cook the turtle meat

Place a wok over high heat, add rendered lard, put in scallion and ginger to fry until fragrant, then remove them. Pour in the turtle meat, add Shaoxing wine, cinnamon, star anise and water, bring to a boil, then add salt, soy sauce and white sugar, cook until the meat is tender, then remove the spices.

Steam the eight treasures ingredients

Wash the glutinous rice, coix seed and euryale seed clean, steam each in a steamer until cooked, cut the bamboo shoots, ham and sponge cake into dice.

Assemble in a bowl

Take a bowl, arrange the whole soaked shiitake mushrooms neatly in a circle at the bottom of the bowl, arrange the soft-shelled turtle skirt edge around the mushrooms, cut the blanched turtle meat into dice, add it with the eight treasures ingredients, rendered lard, shrimp roe, white sugar and part of the original broth, mix well, then transfer the mixture into the bowl.

Steam

Place the bowl in a steamer and steam until fully cooked, take it out and invert it onto a plate.

Pour the sauce

Place a pot over heat, add oil, put the garlic cloves in the oil to blanch until cooked, then remove them. Leave the base oil in the pot, add the original broth and bring to a boil, thicken with starch, drizzle in sesame oil, pour the sauce over the turtle meat, sprinkle with white pepper powder, and surround the dish with the blanched garlic cloves to serve.