Spicy Simmered Squid
A classic famous dish of Shaanxi cuisine, Spicy Braised Squid, is made by first rehydrating dried squid in alkaline water, then slow-braising it over low heat with shredded pork, chicken leg, chili peppers, and other complementary ingredients.
Ingredients
Dried squid (sliced into thin pieces about 1 fen thick, cut into fine strips)
to taste
Alkali water (5% concentration)
2500 g
Fine salt (for marinating the squid strips)
a pinch
Pork (cut into 1.5-inch long thin strips)
to taste
Salty wheat paste (mixed with the pork strips)
to taste
Scallion (cut into thin strips)
to taste
Ginger (cut into thin strips)
to taste
Ham (minced)
to taste
Chicken leg (blanched)
to taste
Rendered pork fat
to taste
Dried chili segments
to taste
Shaoxing wine
to taste
Soy sauce
to taste
Chicken broth
to taste
Cassia bark
to taste
Instructions
1
Preparing the squid
Place the squid strips in 5% alkali water and soak for 2 hours. Transfer to a soup pot and bring to a gentle boil over low heat. When the strips curl, take off the heat; once they straighten, remove them and pour off the water. Return the squid strips to the pot, add fresh water to cover them, bring to a gentle boil over low heat, and drain; repeat this three times. Finally, drain well and toss with the fine salt.
2
Preparing the ingredients
Cut the pork into strips and toss with the salty wheat paste. Cut the scallion and ginger into thin strips, and mince the ham. Blanch the chicken legs in a pot of boiling water.
3
Stir-frying the base
Heat the rendered pork fat in a wok over high heat until 50% hot. Add the dried chili segments and stir-fry until coffee-colored. Add the pork strips and stir-fry to break them up. Splash in the Shaoxing wine, then add the soy sauce, fine salt, chicken broth, chicken legs, cassia bark, and scallion strips to form the base dish.
4
Simmering
Pour the base dish into a clay pot and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour. Once the dish is cooked through, remove the chicken legs, cut them into thin strips, return them to the clay pot, and stir together with the pork strips.
5
Combining and serving
Place the squid strips on one side of the clay pot and the base dish on the other side; simmer over low heat for 1 hour. First transfer the base dish into a serving bowl, then arrange the squid strips on top, pour over the original broth, and sprinkle with the minced ham to finish.
