Mandarin Duck Pearl Soup
A classic Shandong (Lu) cuisine soup. The finished dish boasts a clear, vibrant broth, glistening white crystal fish balls, and a vivid, lively presentation.
Ingredients
Flatfish meat (skin removed, washed, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes, pounded into fine paste with the back of a knife)
500 g
Egg whites (part used for the fish paste, part beaten into egg foam for the mandarin ducks)
20 g
Cilantro stems
20 g
Fine salt
5 g
Shaoxing wine
15 g
Rendered pork fat (part used for the fish paste, part used to grease the soup spoons)
20 g
Clear broth
150 g
Soy sauce
10 g
Instructions
1
Make the fish paste
Skin and wash the flatfish meat, soak in cold water for 10 minutes, then pound into a fine paste with the back of a knife and place in a bowl. Add the fine salt, Shaoxing wine, egg whites, rendered pork fat, and water, and stir well in one direction until it forms a fish paste (it should be able to float in water).
2
Poach the fish balls
Place water in a wok and bring it to about 50 °C (just below simmering). Shape the fish paste into balls about 1 cm in diameter and poach them until cooked through, then lift them out and place in a soup bowl.
3
Steam the mandarin ducks
Beat the egg whites into a stiff egg foam. Take 2 soup spoons, lightly grease the bottoms with a little rendered pork fat, shape the egg foam into two mandarin-duck shapes, and steam over brisk heat until set; remove.
4
Finish the soup
Pour the clear broth into a soup pot and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the fine salt and soy sauce, skim off any foam, add the cilantro stems, drizzle with sesame oil, and pour over the fish balls in the soup bowl. Gently slide the "mandarin ducks" into the bowl and serve.
