Traditional Braised Soft-Shelled Turtle
A Cantonese-style claypot dish featuring whole soft-shelled turtle as the main ingredient, steamed with roasted pork belly and shiitake mushrooms. Known for its nourishing properties.
Ingredients
soft-shelled turtle (cleaned, entrails removed)
600 g
cured pork belly (blanched)
20 g
dried shiitake mushrooms (blanched)
20 g
salt
5 g
cooking wine
2 g
white pepper powder
2 g
scallion segments (for sautéing)
10 g
winter bamboo shoots (blanched)
10 g
msg
1 g
minced ginger (for sautéing)
1 g
stock
200 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Clean the soft-shelled turtle, removing the entrails. Blanch the cured pork belly, dried shiitake mushrooms, and winter bamboo shoots, then remove and set aside.
2
Step 2
Heat a wok over high heat and sauté the scallion segments and minced ginger until fragrant. Add the cured pork belly, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, cooking wine, and stock, and simmer briefly. Transfer the mixture along with the broth into a clay pot.
3
Step 3
Place the soft-shelled turtle into the clay pot, add the salt and MSG, and steam until tender and soft. Sprinkle with white pepper powder before serving.
