The Burning of Red Cliffs

The Burning of Red Cliffs

　　Cao Cao led his army to attack the Eastern Wu and advanced straight to the waters of Red Cliffs. Zhou Yu, the commander-in-chief of the Wu forces, decided to launch a fire attack against Cao Cao’s navy, taking advantage of their unfamiliarity with naval warfare and Cao Cao’s overconfidence and underestimation of the enemy, despite being heavily outnumbered. Zhou Yu ordered Huang Gai to lead a fleet of fire ships loaded with flammable materials, disguised as grain transports and all flying green dragon pennants. Pretending to surrender, they headed toward Cao Cao’s naval camp. Since Cao Cao had received prior intelligence about Huang Gai’s supposed surrender and thus took no precautions, he even went aboard his flagship at the naval camp to watch Huang Gai’s approach. As the Wu ships approached the Cao camp, Huang Gai gave the order to set all ships ablaze. Riding the strong southeast wind, the fire ships shot forward like arrows and crashed into Cao Cao’s naval camp, igniting the warships. By then, Cao Cao’s ships were chained together and could not escape. Instantly, flames soared into the sky, turning the river red. The Wu fleet seized the opportunity to attack, throwing the Cao army into chaos. Countless soldiers were killed or wounded, and Cao Cao had no choice but to flee in panic with the remnants of his army.

　　Ingredients: 1 soft-shell turtle (about 1000g), 250g fish paste, 30g crab roe, 1 sprig of coriander, 10g each of scallion and ginger.

　　Seasonings: 5g each of salt and cooking wine, 3g MSG, 30g chili oil, 15g wet starch, 30g cooked lard, 50g first-stock broth.

　　Preparation method:

　　1. Slaughter the soft-shell turtle, drain the blood, blanch it in boiling water, scrape off the membrane and black skin, rinse clean, cut open from the belly, remove the internal organs, place them in a basin, add scallion and ginger, pour in some broth, and steam until tender.

　　2. Spread the fish paste into the green mussel shells, garnish with crab roe and coriander leaves, steam for a few minutes, then remove.

　　3. Place the steamed turtle on a small serving plate, drizzle with chili oil, and arrange the steamed fish paste around it.

　　4. Heat a wok, add the first-stock broth, season, thicken with a clear cornstarch slurry, and pour over the fish paste.