Zu'an Shark Fin

Name: Zu'an Shark Fin
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 4 h 30 min
Total time: 5 h 30 min
Ingredients: 2000 g Soaked jade-knot shark fin (wrapped in white loose gauze); 8 g Fine salt (for seasoning); 2.5 g MSG (for seasoning); 50 g Dried scallops (remove old tendons, wash, add scallion, ginger, cooking wine and water, then steam until tender); 1 g Pepper salt (for sprinkling on top); 1500 g Fat hen meat (slaughtered, fully plucked, gutted, and cut into large chunks); 50 g Scallion knots (crushed); 1000 g Pork shoulder meat (scrubbed clean and cut into chunks); 50 g Ginger slices (crushed); 150 g Shaoxing wine (for seasoning); 25 g Rendered chicken fat (for building the sauce); to taste Chicken broth (for simmering); 1500 g Water (for simmering)

A celebrated classic of Hunan cuisine — tender, silky shark fin in a rich, fragrant broth, finished with a glossy pale-yellow sheen.

5h 30m

Easy

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Ingredients

Soaked jade-knot shark fin (wrapped in white loose gauze) 2000 g

Fine salt (for seasoning) 8 g

MSG (for seasoning) 2.5 g

Dried scallops (remove old tendons, wash, add scallion, ginger, cooking wine and water, then steam until tender) 50 g

Pepper salt (for sprinkling on top) 1 g

Fat hen meat (slaughtered, fully plucked, gutted, and cut into large chunks) 1500 g

Scallion knots (crushed) 50 g

Pork shoulder meat (scrubbed clean and cut into chunks) 1000 g

Ginger slices (crushed) 50 g

Shaoxing wine (for seasoning) 150 g

Rendered chicken fat (for building the sauce) 25 g

Chicken broth (for simmering) to taste

Water (for simmering) 1500 g

Instructions

Initial Preparation

Slaughter the chicken, fully pluck the feathers, gut and wash it clean, then cut it into large chunks. Scrub the pork shoulder meat clean and cut it into chunks. Blanch the chicken and pork in a pot of boiling water, then lift them out and rinse off the blood foam with clean water. Crush the scallion and ginger. Pull off the tough old tendons from the dried scallops, wash them, then place them in a steamer with scallion, ginger, cooking wine, and water, and steam until set aside for later.

First Simmering

Take one large clay pot and line the bottom with a bamboo grate, then place the shark fin wrapped in white loose gauze on top. Pour in chicken broth, add cooking wine, scallion, and ginger, bring to a boil over high heat, then move to low heat and simmer for about half an hour. Lift the shark fin out of the pot and discard this broth.

Second Simmering

Lay the pork shoulder meat, scallion knots, and ginger slices on top, then return the shark fin and chicken pieces, add the reserved dried-scallop steaming liquid, Shaoxing wine, fine salt, and 1500 g of water, cover with a plate, bring to a boil over high heat, then move to low heat and simmer for about 4 hours, until the shark fin is soft, fully tender, and richly fragrant. Remove from the heat, then take out and discard the chicken, pork, scallion, and ginger. Unwrap the shark fin from the white gauze and arrange it on a serving plate.

Pouring the Sauce

Place the rendered chicken fat in a wok and heat it until it is about 80 percent hot. Pour in the original broth from the clay pot, add the MSG, and bring it to a boil to form a thick sauce. Pour the sauce over the shark fin, sprinkle with pepper powder, and drizzle with chicken fat to finish.