Phoenix Nesting
A classic dish from the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, this recipe features hen steamed with shiitake mushrooms, dried bamboo shoot slices, shredded fish maw, and quail eggs, plated to resemble a phoenix squatting on its nest.
Ingredients
Hen (opened from the back, giblets removed, thigh bones removed)
1
Quail eggs (boiled and peeled)
15
Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms (julienned)
50 g
Rehydrated bamboo shoots (julienned)
50 g
Rehydrated fish maw (julienned)
50 g
Bok choy leaves (washed, julienned, fried into floss)
100 g
Cooking wine
20 g
Fine salt
2 g
Soy sauce
10 g
Clear broth (for braising and steaming the chicken)
600 g
Scallion segments
50 g
Ginger
25 g
Wet cornstarch (for thickening)
15 g
Peanut oil (for frying bok choy floss)
500 g(about 20 g absorbed)
Chicken fat (for sauce drizzling)
15 g
Instructions
1
Initial Preparation, Braising and Steaming of the Hen
Open the hen from the back, remove the giblets, wash clean, take out the thigh bones from inside the cavity, and blanch several times in boiling water. Place the hen in a clay pot, pour in the clear broth, add 15 g cooking wine, a pinch of fine salt, and the scallion and ginger segments, and braise over low heat for about two hours. Then transfer to a large bowl and steam over the original broth until tender.
2
Frying the Bok Choy Floss
Wash the bok choy leaves thoroughly and cut into thin strips. Heat a pan, add the peanut oil, and when it reaches about 70% hot, add the bok choy strips and fry into a floss. Remove and drain off the oil.
3
Sautéing the Garnish Strips
Julienne the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated bamboo shoots, and rehydrated fish maw, then blanch once in boiling water and remove. Pour 100 g of clear broth into the pot, add the three blanched strips, along with a little cooking wine and fine salt, simmer over low heat for 2 minutes, then remove and drain. Spread the strips on a plate and sprinkle the bok choy floss around the edges.
4
Plating
Add water to a pot, place in the quail eggs, boil until cooked, then remove and peel. Arrange them on both sides of the plate, half-buried in the strips. Drain the broth from the steamed hen, place it breast-side up in the center of the plate.
5
Finishing with Sauce
Pour 250 g of the original steaming broth into a pot, add the soy sauce and a little cooking wine, adjust the seasoning to taste, thicken with cornstarch slurry, drizzle with the chicken fat, and pour over the dish to finish.
