Whole Braised Bear Paw

Name: Whole Braised Bear Paw
Ingredients: 1 piece (approx. 1000g) Fresh bear paw (requires long soaking); 1000g Pork belly (split open on one side); 5 heads Choy sum; 600g Clear broth; 60g Rendered chicken oil; 4g Salt (use in batches); 4 segments Scallion; 4 slices Ginger; 10g Tangerine Peel Juice; 10g Scallion-Ginger Juice; 30 Sichuan Peppercorns; 12g Cooking Wine; 400g Lime (crushed for hair removal); appropriate amount Rice Water (for soaking 3 hours to remove fishy odor)

After the bear paw has its hair removed with slaked lime and its gamey odor eliminated with rice water, it is stuffed with pork belly, steamed until fully cooked, deboned, then simmered in clear broth until tender and fall-apart.

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Story

A storied traditional Chinese delicacy historically reserved for imperial banquets, whole braised bear paw is celebrated for its sumptuous, gelatinous texture and deeply savory, umami-rich flavor, requiring hours of careful preparation to transform the tough cut into a luxurious, melt-in-your-mouth centerpiece.

Ingredients

Fresh bear paw (requires long soaking) 1 piece (approx. 1000g)

Pork belly (split open on one side) 1000g

Choy sum 5 heads

Clear broth 600g

Rendered chicken oil 60g

Salt (use in batches) 4g

Scallion 4 segments

Ginger 4 slices

Tangerine Peel Juice 10g

Scallion-Ginger Juice 10g

Sichuan Peppercorns 30

Cooking Wine 12g

Lime (crushed for hair removal) 400g

Rice Water (for soaking 3 hours to remove fishy odor) appropriate amount

Instructions

Process bear paws

First soak the bear paws to soften them (the paws must be soaked for a long time to fully expand), take 400g of quicklime, crush it and place it in an iron basin, bury the bear paws in the lime, then pour water over it to generate heat, wait for it to cool before taking out the paws and removing all hair, then place the bear paws in rice-washing water, soak for 3 hours (to remove fishy odor), then take out, wash and rinse thoroughly, set aside.

Stuff and steam-cook

Cut a hole in one side of the pork belly, coat the bear paws with scallion-ginger juice, dried tangerine peel juice, and 2g of salt, rub evenly until slightly set, stuff the paws into the pork belly hole, seal the opening with bamboo skewers, to preserve the original flavor and intact shape, place in a basin and steam in a steamer until the pork belly is tender, remove the bamboo skewers, take out the bear paws, make a vertical cut at the five-finger part of the paw surface, remove the finger bones, then cut open the paw surface, remove all the palm bones, place into a clay pot (palm facing up) and set aside.

Stew to finish the dish

Place the wok over high heat, add rendered chicken fat, add scallion, ginger, and Sichuan pepper to the oil and fry until fragrant, pour in clear broth and bring to a slight boil, remove and discard the scallion, ginger, and Sichuan pepper, pour the broth into the clay pot with the bear paws, add salt, simmer on low heat until tender, then turn to high heat to reduce the sauce, take the bear paws out of the clay pot, place palm-side up on a plate, accompany with bok choy, pour the original sauce over and serve.