Stewed Turtle with Stone Ear Fungus

Stewed Turtle with Stone Ear Fungus

　　Features: Clear soup, delicious flavor, tender turtle meat, with a cooling and fire-purging effect.

　　 Ingredients: One live old turtle (about 1 jin / 500g), 2 liang (100g) stone ear fungus, 1 liang (50g) pork fat, a little scallion, ginger, and salt.

　　 Preparation Method: Soak the stone ear fungus in warm water until softened, remove the hard center stem, wash off the black water. Slice the pork fat into a comb-like pattern.

　　 Place the turtle belly-up on the cutting board, chop off its head with a knife, drain the blood, briefly blanch in boiling water to remove the thick, fishy white skin. Trim the tail and leg tips, gut the turtle, rinse out the blood inside the cavity with cold water, and remove the internal organs.

　　Take a clay pot, place the turtle, pork fat, shredded ginger, and salt inside. Boil over high heat to remove any scum, then simmer over low heat for about two hours. Take a soup bowl, place the turtle belly-up in the bowl, arrange the stone ear fungus around it, add scallions, slowly pour in the soup, and drizzle with a bit of hot oil before serving.