Steamed Freshwater Eel

Name: Steamed Freshwater Eel
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 750 g Fresh live eel; 59 g Pork caul fat; 100 g Pork (cut into 3.3 cm long, about 0.5 cm thick slices); 50 g Egg white; 50 g Bamboo fungus (cut into 2 cm segments, blanched in broth); 750 g Clear broth (including supreme clear broth); 15 g Cooking wine; 3 g Ground white pepper; 5 g Salt (for seasoning and marinating); 2 g Sichuan peppercorn; 1 g MSG; 1 g Ginger (made into ginger-vinegar dipping sauce); 20 g Vinegar (made into ginger-vinegar dipping sauce)

A classic Sichuan specialty of tender freshwater eel wrapped in pork caul fat and steamed until the broth turns clear and pale, served with lotus egg and bamboo fungus.

55 min

Easy

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Ingredients

Fresh live eel 750 g

Pork caul fat 59 g

Pork (cut into 3.3 cm long, about 0.5 cm thick slices) 100 g

Egg white 50 g

Bamboo fungus (cut into 2 cm segments, blanched in broth) 50 g

Clear broth (including supreme clear broth) 750 g

Cooking wine 15 g

Ground white pepper 3 g

Salt (for seasoning and marinating) 5 g

Sichuan peppercorn 2 g

MSG 1 g

Ginger (made into ginger-vinegar dipping sauce) 1 g

Vinegar (made into ginger-vinegar dipping sauce) 20 g

Instructions

Prepare the Eel

After killing the eel, let all the blood drain. Scald off the slippery mucus on the skin with hot water (you can gently scrape the skin with a small knife), and snip off the fins. Cut the fish into 2 cm long segments (or first slice through the bones, break the body into two pieces, and pull out the innards).

Season and Arrange in Bowl

Line a steaming bowl with the pork caul fat and stand the eel segments upright on top of it. Mix the cooking wine with the ground white pepper, salt, and Sichuan peppercorn, and pour it evenly over the eel. Slice the pork into pieces about 3.3 cm long and 0.5 cm thick, lay them over the eel segments, seal the bowl with straw paper, and steam over a bamboo steamer until cooked through. Remove from the steamer.

Prepare the Garnishes

In a separate steaming bowl, whisk together the egg white and cold clear broth. Steam until set into a white egg-white custard, then remove and cut into pieces. Cut the bamboo fungus into 2 cm segments and blanch them in broth until just cooked.

Plate the Dish

Once the steamed eel is out, rinse it twice with clear broth and drain well. Invert the bowl onto a large round serving plate, peel off the pork caul fat, and arrange the egg-white custard and bamboo fungus around the eel. Bring the supreme clear broth to a boil, season with salt, white pepper, cooking wine, and MSG, and pour it over the dish. Serve with a ginger-vinegar dipping sauce on the side.