Pan-Baked Vegetable Pockets

Pan-Baked Vegetable Pockets

　　Ingredients: Pork (175g), shrimp (75g), water chestnut (1), vegetable leaves (3–4), eggs (2), rice wine (12.5g), salt (6.5g), flour (a little), MSG (a little), chicken oil (a little), clear broth (a little). Method: 1. Peel the pork and remove the sinews, then chop it separately with the shrimp into a paste. Peel and dice the water chestnut, then chop it into a paste as well. Place all three ingredients in a bowl, add salt, MSG, and a little lard, and mix well. 2. Wash the vegetable leaves, blanch them in boiling water, and lay them flat on a cutting board. Evenly spread the prepared pork, shrimp, and water chestnut paste on top of the leaves, press into a square shape, cover with another layer of vegetable leaves, and gently press the edges flat and tidy. Trim neatly, then cut into 16 to 20 small squares, called “vegetable pockets.” Use a knife to transfer the pockets onto a plate and arrange them in rows. 3. Beat one egg in a bowl, stir in flour to make a thick batter, then beat in another egg and continue stirring until you have a smooth, not-too-thick or too-thin yellow batter. 4. In a clean pan, heat 500g of lard (don’t heat it too much—too hot and it will scorch; not hot enough and the batter will stick together and won’t turn). Hold the pan by hand, slowly rotate it to distribute the oil evenly, then dip each vegetable pocket into the yellow batter and place it in the pan in a row. Bake until golden. While baking, lift the pan and slowly rotate it so that the pockets cook evenly on all sides and color uniformly. After one side is done, flip and bake the other side (keeping the original arrangement). Finally, pour out the lard, add chicken oil and clear broth, simmer over low heat, then remove from heat and push the pockets into a serving dish. They should be golden in color, fragrant in taste, with no visible vegetable leaves on the surface—but still full of vegetable flavor inside.