Steamed Soft-Shelled Turtle with Goji Berries
A classic Beijing dish featuring a clear broth, tender, well-cooked meat, and a fresh, mellow, aromatic, savory flavor.
Ingredients
Soft-shelled turtle (about 1000 g, cut into pieces and marinated)
1
Oil
75 g
Goji berries (soaked in water)
10 g
Chicken legs (cut into pieces)
2
Pork (cut into pieces)
250 g
Ham (sliced)
10 g
Chicken broth
to taste
Scallion
50 g
Ginger
50 g
Cooking wine
20 g
Salt
5 g
MSG
4 g
Garlic
25 g
Instructions
1
Preparing the turtle
Cut off the head and neck of the turtle and drain the blood. Soak in cold water, then briefly blanch in boiling water and remove. Scrape off the black skin along the edge of the skirt, trim off the claw tips, lift off the back shell, and remove the innards and yellow fat. Rinse in cold water to wash away the blood, then cut into roughly 4 cm cubes. Marinate with scallion, ginger, and cooking wine for about 16 hours, then drain off the liquid.
2
Preparing the side ingredients
Cut the pork and chicken legs into pieces. Slice the ham. Soak the goji berries in water.
3
Frying
Heat oil in a wok over high heat, add the turtle pieces, briefly fry, then remove.
4
Steaming
Place the fried turtle pieces in a container. Add scallion, ginger, and garlic slices, cooking wine, goji berries, salt, MSG, chicken, pork pieces, and chicken broth, then steam over a pot of water until cooked through. Transfer the turtle pieces to a serving bowl, strain the broth and pour it back over the turtle, then garnish with goji berries and ham slices to finish.
