Snake Bisque
A Cantonese dish with a moderately thick, silky white broth, made by braising shredded meat from three kinds of snake together with chicken, civet, and other finely cut ingredients.
Ingredients
Three snakes (skinned, head, tail and innards removed)
to taste
Cooking wine
to taste
MSG
to taste
Fine salt
to taste
Ginger slices
to taste
Scallion strips
to taste
Egg white (for coating)
to taste
Wet starch (for coating and thickening)
to taste
Cooked fruit civet meat, shredded
to taste
Shiitake mushrooms, shredded
to taste
Croaker fish maw, shredded
to taste
Wood ear fungus
to taste
White pepper
to taste
Cooked pork lard
to taste
Chicken (coated with egg white and wet starch, passed through hot oil until cooked)
to taste
Snake broth
to taste
Stock
to taste
Instructions
1
Step 1
Slaughter the three snakes, remove the skin, head, tail and innards, cook them, then shred the flesh and remove the bones.
2
Step 2
Lightly stir-fry the shredded snake meat in cooked pork lard, splash in cooking wine, then add snake broth, MSG and fine salt. Transfer to a clay pot with ginger slices and scallion strips and steam over medium heat for about one hour.
3
Step 3
Remove the shredded snake meat and combine it in a pot with the chicken shreds (previously coated in egg white and wet starch and passed through hot oil until cooked), the cooked civet meat shreds, shiitake shreds, croaker fish maw shreds, wood ear fungus, stock and snake broth, then bring everything to a boil.
4
Step 4
Season with fine salt and white pepper, thicken with a water-and-starch slurry, drizzle in cooked pork lard and serve.
