Pan-Braised Cattail Shoots
A traditional Jinan specialty, Guota Pucai (Braised Pan-Fried Cattail Shoots) is made by coating tender cattail shoots in batter, pan-frying them, then finishing with a savory braising sauce. The finished dish has a golden hue and a rich, umami-forward, mellow flavor.
Ingredients
Cattail shoots (remove outer skin, trim root end, wash, cut into segments, lightly marinate)
200 g
MSG
2 g
Refined salt
25 g
Shredded ginger
2 g
Cooked pork lard (approximately 75 g used)
200 g
Egg yolks
2
Shredded cucumber skin
5 g
Cooking wine
5 g
Wet starch
5 g
Clear broth
50 g
Shredded ham
10 g
Shredded scallion
5 g
Flour
10 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Remove the outer skin from the cattail shoots, trim off the root ends and wash well, then cut into 4.5 cm segments. Place in a dish, add refined salt, cooking wine, and MSG, mix well and let marinate briefly.
2
Step 2
Combine the egg yolks, wet starch, flour, cooking wine, refined salt, and MSG into a smooth batter; set aside.
3
Step 3
Coat the cattail shoots with flour, then toss them in the egg yolk batter until evenly coated. Arrange them in two neat rows on a plate and pour any remaining batter over the top. Place a wok over high heat, add cooked pork lard and heat to about 40% of full heat (around 120 °C / 250 °F). Carefully slide the cattail shoots into the wok in neat rows and pan-fry until they hold their shape. Drain off the oil, flip the whole batch over, add more oil as needed, and continue frying until both sides are golden brown. Add the shredded scallion and ginger, pour in the prepared batter/sauce, sprinkle with shredded cucumber skin and shredded ham, cover with a large plate, and simmer over low heat until the sauce is nearly reduced. Flip out onto a serving plate and serve.
