Huaiyin Chicken Porridge with Cattail Shoots

Huaiyin Chicken Porridge with Cattail Shoots

　　Cattail shoots, also known as "deep cattail," "white cattail," or commonly referred to as grass sprouts, are the tender stems of the cattail plant. Those from the "Tianfei Palace" in the southwestern part of the ancient city of Huai'an are considered the most plump and delicious. Growing out of the mud yet pure white as jade, tender, fragrant, and juicy, they are hailed as the "finest bamboo shoots under heaven." Cattail shoots are abundant in spring and summer, with their peak season being late spring to early summer.

　　The use of cattail shoots in cooking in China dates back at least 2,000 years, with records of "cattail pickles" found in the Rites of Zhou. A poem in the Ming Dynasty classic Journey to the West reads: "Stir-fried black flower petals, water caltrops much praised, cattail root and wild rice stem, four clear delights in pure broth displayed."

　　Legend has it that in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, the anti-Jin heroine Lady Liang Hongyu and her husband Han Shizhong, while stationed in Huai'an, used cattail shoots as a substitute for food when military rations ran low, hence the name "Anti-Jin Vegetable." Over time, through the continuous practice and refinement by generations of chefs, seasonal cattail shoot dishes became a delicacy at banquets in the Huaihai region, among which chicken porridge with cattail shoots stands out as the finest, featuring a rather complex cooking process. The preparation method for chicken porridge with cattail shoots is introduced as follows:

　　Ingredients:

　　150g premium cattail shoots, 150g raw chicken breast, 75g pork fat, 3 egg whites, 1000g chicken stock, a small amount of ham cubes, ginger-vinegar mix, cooking wine, fine salt, MSG, wet starch, rice flour, and a little cooked lard.

　　Preparation Method:

　　1. Finely mince the chicken breast and pork fat after initial preparation.

　　2. Blanch the cattail shoots, rinse, and dice them.

　　3. Mix the chicken paste with wet starch and rice flour, dilute with 250g of chicken stock, then strain through cheesecloth to remove residue. Add egg whites, fine salt, ginger-vinegar mix, and cooking wine, and stir into a thin paste.

　　Heat a wok over medium heat, coat with cooked lard, add 750g of chicken stock and bring to a boil. Slowly pour in the chicken paste mixture while continuously stirring with a spatula until it thickens. Then add the diced cattail shoots, along with cooked lard, fine salt, and MSG, and continue stirring. Drizzle with a bit of hot oil, transfer to a soup bowl, and sprinkle with ham cubes before serving.