Farewell My Concubine

Farewell My Concubine

　　　Originally named Dragon and Phoenix Stew. When Xiang Yu declared himself the Hegemon-King and established his capital in Pengcheng (modern-day Xuzhou), he held a founding ceremony and prepared a "Dragon and Phoenix Banquet." Legend has it that it was personally designed by Consort Yu. The "Dragon and Phoenix Stew" was the main dish of the "Dragon and Phoenix Banquet." Its ingredients were "turtle" (a water creature, with the dragon as the king of aquatic animals) and pheasant (a feathered creature, with the phoenix as the king of birds), hence the name derived from the symbolism of the dragon and phoenix meeting. Today, soft-shell turtle and chicken are used instead of turtle and pheasant. Passed down through generations to this day, this dish is a famous delicacy of Xuzhou. In recent years, it has gained immense popularity and become an indispensable main course at celebratory banquets.

　　Cuisine: Shandong Cuisine

　　Flavor: Salty and savory

　　Price: Over 80 RMB

　　Ingredients:

　　500g softened soft-shell turtle skirt, 1 whole hen (about 750g), 1 whole pork elbow (about 750g), 25g softened shiitake mushrooms, 2 tbsp lard, 2 cups broth, 25g salted bamboo shoots, 2 tbsp cooking wine, appropriate amounts of scallions, ginger, and cornstarch.

　　Preparation Method:

　　1. Place the turtle skirt in a pot and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours. Remove and place in warm water, then use a small knife to scrape off the inner skin of the skirt. Return it to the pot and simmer over low heat until the turtle bones can be removed. Take out the bones, clean them, and cut the skirt into strips 3cm wide and 6cm long. Blanch in boiling water, then soak in a bowl of hot water.

　　2. Clean the hen and pork elbow, place them in a pot, and cook until 80% done. Remove, then cut open the pork elbow from the inside, remove the bones, and slice the meat into strips. Remove the chicken bones and shred the chicken meat into strips.

　　3. Take a large clay pot, place a pot liner inside, then arrange the shiitake mushrooms and salted bamboo shoots on top. Arrange the turtle skirt strips evenly in a circle, then place the chicken strips on top. Surround the turtle skirt with the pork elbow meat. Add the broth, soy sauce, cooking wine, and salt.

　　4. Heat a wok, add a little Sichuan peppercorn and lightly fry, then pour into the clay pot. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Remove the pot, uncover, take out the pork elbow meat, gently lift out the pot liner, and invert the chicken and turtle skirt onto a large serving plate.

　　5. Reheat the wok, fry the Sichuan peppercorn again, then remove. Pour the broth used to cook the turtle skirt and chicken into the wok, add cooking wine and bring to a boil. Thicken with a cornstarch slurry, then pour over the chicken and turtle skirt on the serving plate.