Huguo Vegetable with Yunnan Ham
Traditional Teochew dish Yuntui Huguo Cai features sweet potato leaves blanched in soda water to remove astringency, served alongside steamed straw mushrooms and sliced Yunnan ham, and finished with a drizzled starch-thickened sauce.
Ingredients
Sweet potato young leaves (also called sweet potato leaves, blanched to remove astringency and chopped)
700 g
Ham meat (sliced)
35 g
Dried straw mushrooms (or shiitake mushrooms, soaked and cleaned)
to taste
Lard (used in portions: 100 g each for sautéing and stirring into the slurry)
300 g
Chicken fat
100 g
Superior stock (used in portions: 200 g for steaming the mushrooms, 1000 g for cooking the greens, 300 g for pouring)
1500 g
Water chestnut starch (mixed with water as a wet slurry for thickening)
to taste
Flavor powder (MSG; used in portions: 2.5 g for steaming the mushrooms, 7.5 g for cooking the greens)
10 g
Fine salt (used in portions: 2.5 g for steaming the mushrooms, 5 g for cooking the greens)
7.5 g
Baking soda (for blanching)
to taste
Instructions
1
Step 1
Add baking soda to boiling water and blanch the sweet potato leaves for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and rinse with cold water, then pass through four changes of clean water to remove the baking soda smell. Squeeze out the water and give the leaves a few chops.
2
Step 2
Soak and wash the straw mushrooms (or shiitake mushrooms). Place them in a bowl, add 100 g chicken fat, 200 g superior stock, 2.5 g fine salt, and 2.5 g flavor powder, and mix well. Steam in a steamer for about 20 minutes, then remove.
3
Step 3
Heat 100 g lard and stir-fry the sweet potato leaves until fragrant. Add the steamed straw mushrooms, 1000 g superior stock, 7.5 g flavor powder, and 5 g fine salt. Stir in the wet water chestnut starch (i.e., thicken with a slurry), then add another 100 g lard and mix well.
4
Step 4
Transfer eight-tenths of the mixture to a serving bowl, leaving the remainder in the wok. Add the ham slices and 300 g superior stock, bring to a boil, then pour over the vegetable purée in the bowl. The dish is ready to serve.
