Steamed Assorted Preserved Meats

Steamed Assorted Preserved Meats

　　Preserved meats are widely used in Hunan cuisine, served either as cold dishes or incorporated into various preserved meat dishes. Their texture is tender yet not greasy, with a savory and deliciously salty flavor. Steamed Assorted Preserved Meats combines preserved chicken, preserved carp, preserved pork, and more in a single bowl, then steams them with cooked lard, clear meat broth, monosodium glutamate, fermented black beans, and dried chili peppers. This dish becomes even more delicious due to the combination of chicken, fish, and meat flavors, making it an exquisite dish rich in local flavor. (Changsha)

　　[Dish Name] Steamed Assorted Preserved Meats

　　[Cuisine] Hunan Cuisine

　　[Characteristics] This dish features a strong preserved meat aroma, a well-balanced salty-sweet taste, a bright reddish color, a tender yet non-greasy texture with a slightly thick sauce, and complementary flavors that each shine in their own way.

　　[Ingredients] 200g preserved pork, 25g clear meat broth, 200g preserved chicken, 0.5g monosodium glutamate, 200g preserved carp, 25g cooked lard, 15g sugar

　　[Preparation Process]

　　1. Wash the preserved pork, preserved chicken, and preserved carp with warm water, place them in a earthenware bowl, and steam until cooked. Remove. Debone the preserved chicken, peel the preserved pork, and descale the preserved carp. Slice the preserved pork into 4cm-long, 0.7cm-thick pieces, and cut the preserved chicken and preserved carp into strips of similar size.

　　2. Take a ceramic serving bowl, arrange the preserved pork, preserved chicken, and preserved carp neatly in the bowl with their skin side down. Then add the cooked lard, sugar, and seasoned clear meat broth, and steam until tender. Remove and invert onto a large ceramic plate to serve.

　　Notes:

　　1. "Preserved meats" are one of the main characteristics of Hunan cuisine. They come in a variety of ingredients, mainly including pork, beef, chicken, fish, wild duck, and other types. To make preserved pork: take 5000g of pork belly, wash and drain the water, cut into 5 large strips, add 250g of fine salt, 10g of Sichuan peppercorns, 1.5g of saltpeter, and 50g of sugar, marinate for 4 days, turn over once, then marinate for another 3 days. Remove and rinse with clean water. Tie one end of the pork strip with hemp twine, hang it in the sun to dry for 2 days, then hang it in a smoking room. Use sawdust, dried fruit shells, or rice husks as smoking material, and smoke continuously for 36 hours until each strip of pork turns a smoked yellow color—that’s preserved pork. To make preserved chicken: split a cleaned chicken along the back, remove the crop and internal organs, make a cut in the thick part of the thigh to allow the seasonings to penetrate, and use the same curing method as for preserved pork. To make preserved carp: take 500g of fresh fish, split each fish along the back, remove the gills and internal organs, wash and drain the water, mix with 250g of fine salt, 10g of Sichuan peppercorns, 1.5g of saltpeter, and 50g of sugar, marinate for 3 days, rinse, hang in the sun to dry for 2 days, then hang in the smoking room to continue smoking for 36 hours—that’s preserved carp.

　　2. For the preserved chicken, first remove the body bones, then the leg bones, making sure to cut closely against the bones while maintaining the shape of the chicken. For the preserved carp, remove the scales, the spine, and the breastbone, while keeping the shape of the fish flesh. Place the preserved pork in the center, the preserved carp on the left, and the preserved chicken on the right, arranging them neatly in the bowl.

　　3. Adding dried red chilies and fermented black beans enhances the flavor during steaming.

　　4. There are many varieties of preserved meats, and you can also substitute with other types.

　　5. Cover the steamer tightly and steam over medium heat for about 1 hour to finish.