Ginseng and Wheat Soft-Shelled Turtle

Name: Ginseng and Wheat Soft-Shelled Turtle
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 4 h
Ingredients: 1 (about 500-1000 g) Live soft-shelled turtle (head, neck, claws, and tail removed; black membrane and innards scraped off; simmered 30 minutes then deboned and cubed); 5 g Ginseng (ground into fine powder); 10 g Poria mushroom (wrapped and tied in cheesecloth); 20 g Blighted wheat (wrapped and tied in cheesecloth); 2 Eggs (one beaten into the soup at the end); 50 g Ham (cut into small slices); 50 g Raw leaf lard (diced); 15 g Ginger (finely minced); 15 g Scallions (some tied into knots and placed in the bowl); 3 g Salt; 15 g Cooking wine; 1 g MSG; to taste Chicken broth

Soft-shelled turtle is blanched, boiled, and deboned, then steamed until tender with ginseng, poria, and other medicinal herbs. The dish is finished with a sauce thickened with egg.

4 hours

Easy

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Ingredients

Live soft-shelled turtle (head, neck, claws, and tail removed; black membrane and innards scraped off; simmered 30 minutes then deboned and cubed) 1 (about 500-1000 g)

Ginseng (ground into fine powder) 5 g

Poria mushroom (wrapped and tied in cheesecloth) 10 g

Blighted wheat (wrapped and tied in cheesecloth) 20 g

Eggs (one beaten into the soup at the end) 2

Ham (cut into small slices) 50 g

Raw leaf lard (diced) 50 g

Ginger (finely minced) 15 g

Scallions (some tied into knots and placed in the bowl) 15 g

Salt 3 g

Cooking wine 15 g

MSG 1 g

Chicken broth to taste

Instructions

Preparing the turtle

Chop off the head and neck of the turtle, drain off the blood, place it in a bowl, pour boiling water over it for 3 minutes, then remove. Use a small knife to scrape off the black membrane from the back and the soft rim, peel off the white skin from the four legs, and chop off the claws, tail, and belly shell. Remove the innards and wash clean.

Boiling and deboning

Place a wok over the heat, add clear water and the turtle, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes. Remove and place in warm water, peel off the yellow fat, remove the back shell, belly plate, and the thick bones of the limbs, wash clean, and cut into 3 cm cubes. Place the cubes into a bowl.

Arranging the ingredients

Cut the ham into small slices and the raw leaf lard into dice, and lay them over the turtle. Add half of the seasonings (reserve the MSG for later), the minced ginger, and an appropriate amount of clear broth into the bowl.

Steaming

Wrap the blighted wheat and poria in cheesecloth and tie securely, then place them into the soup. Sprinkle the finely ground ginseng powder on top, seal the bowl tightly with damp cotton paper, and steam over boiling water for 3 hours until the turtle is tender and falling apart.

Preparing the sauce

After removing the turtle from the steamer, pick out the scallion knots, invert the bowl onto a serving dish, and pour the cooking liquid into a pot. Season with the remaining half of the seasonings plus a pinch of MSG, bring to a boil, and skim off the foam. Beat one egg into the soup, let it set briefly, then pour the soup over the turtle to serve.