#pencai #treasurepot #pigknuckle
Prosperity pen cai. A treasure pot for the Chinese New Year.
Cooking pen cai for CNY reunion dinner at home is a tradition for us since a few years ago. This year we cooked this earlier so that some of you may try to do it at home.
One key component of pen cai is the broth. We used pig knuckle to cook the stock. Sear the pig knuckle in a pot with some oil. Flip and sear all sides. Add in one chopped leek and one slice of jinhua ham. Fry for a minute and pour in water to pour all the ingredients. Bring it to a boil. Add in 4 small cane rock sugar and let it simmer for 3 hours.
Prepare the ingredients to line the pen cai. Today we’re using dried sea cucumber, dried fish maw, Japanese flower mushrooms, Hokkaido scallop, tiger prawns, abalone, broccoli and fatt choy.
Soak the dried sea cucumber for about 5 days, changing the water every day. Then clean the inside and cook it for 1 to 2 hours until it’s softened. For an easier option, buy ready soaked sea cucumber.
Soak the dried fish maw for 6 hours. If you use fried fish maw, soak for an hour.
Soak the dried mushrooms for 2 hours.
Remove the pig knuckle from the stock after 3 hours. The meat should be tender. Tear or cut into smaller pieces.
Strain 6 to 7 ladles of the stock into a smaller pot. Add 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce and some white pepper. Stir in starch solution (mix 2 tbsp corn flour with 5 tbsp water). Bring it to a boil.
Lay the pork knuckle on a claypot. Add a few dried scallops and dried oysters. Lay sea cucumber, fish maw and mushrooms on top. Add the broth into the claypot. Cover the lid of the claypot and let it slow cook over low heat for about 45 minutes.
Then add in broccoli, scallops, prawns and fatt choy. Close the lid and let it continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the prawns are cooked. Add in abalones, close the lid and cook for a couple of minutes.
Off the heat and serve.
