Minced Chicken with Fish Maw
A traditional Quanzhou specialty: oil-puffed fish maw stewed with minced chicken and sturgeon meat, yielding tender maw in a rich, velvety sauce—sweet, savory, and deeply satisfying.
Ingredients
Dried yellow croaker swim bladder
150g
Chicken breast (skinless, minced)
100g
Red crab (washed, steamed, meat and roe removed)
1 (400g)
Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms (stems removed, julienned)
30g
Wet cornstarch
10g
Shaoxing wine
14g
Soy sauce
10g
Sugar
10g
Stock
600g
White pepper
2g
Rendered pork fat (for blooming the swim bladder and stir-frying)
600g (approximately 80g used)
Fine salt
2g
MSG
3g
Instructions
1
Prepare the ingredients
Wash the sturgeon and steam until cooked; let cool, then remove the roe and meat. Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms and cut into thin strips. Skin the chicken breast and mince it.
2
Oil-bloom the swim bladder
Place a wok over low heat, add the rendered pork fat, and heat to about 30% hot. Add the dried swim bladders and slowly bloom them in the oil. If the oil temperature rises, lift the wok off the heat; once the oil cools, return it to the burner and continue blooming. Repeat several times until the swim bladders puff up and turn soft. Remove once bloomed. After they cool, soak the swim bladders in water to loosen any residue, and wash off the oil. Drain and cut into 5 cm long × 2 cm wide slices.
3
Braise and finish
Place a wok over high heat, add 40 g of rendered pork fat, and briefly sauté the scallion and ginger. Add the minced chicken and shiitake strips and stir-fry for 1 minute. Pour in the stock, then add the swim bladder slices, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt, and soy sauce; braise for 15 minutes. Add the sturgeon meat and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in the MSG, thicken with the wet cornstarch, then drizzle with chicken fat. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish the top with the sturgeon roe, and sprinkle with white pepper before serving.
