Article 84: Analysis of Famous Shandong Dishes (Dishes 21-25): Stir-fried Chicken with Pork Belly, Chicken Slices with Oil, Braised Chicken Slices, Stuffed Crucian Carp, and Imitation Crab

21. Chicken Explosion

Ingredients: Main ingredients: 150g chicken breast, 300g pork belly. Seasonings: 2 egg whites, 2g minced garlic, 4g salt, 10g Shaoxing wine, 2g MSG, 40g cornstarch, 75g chicken broth, 1.5g baking soda, 15g shrimp oil, 750g rendered pork fat (approximately 100g used).

Preparation: (1) Remove the tendons and membranes from the chicken breast, slice it into pieces 3.3cm long, 1.5cm wide and 0.15cm thick, put them in a bowl, add egg white, salt (2g) and wet starch (25g), mix well and coat with the batter.

(2) Remove the fat and skin from the pig's belly, wash it, and slice it into 0.7cm thick slices. First, make 0.3cm wide diagonal cross patterns on one side of the slice. Then, make straight cuts every 0.3cm on the reverse side, with the depth of the cuts being 1/2 the thickness of the belly (after making the cuts, it will look like a net when lifted up). Then cut it into 1.3cm square pieces, put in baking soda, pour in 50℃ warm water (250g), soak for 5 minutes and take it out.

Rinse off the alkaline taste with clean water.

In a bowl, combine clear broth, Shaoxing wine, MSG, 15g cornstarch, and 2g salt to make a sauce.

(3) Place a wok over a fire hole, add lard, and heat over medium heat until it reaches 50% of its maximum temperature. Add the chicken slices to the oil, stir-fry until cooked through, and then remove them from the wok.

Blanch the tripe in boiling water, then immediately dip it into 90% hot oil (for about 3 seconds) and pour it into a strainer.

(4) Leave 25g of lard in the wok, add minced garlic, put the chicken slices and tripe into the wok, quickly pour in the thickening sauce, toss and stir to coat the main ingredients, and serve on a plate.

Takeaway shrimp oil dipping sauce is served.

Quality standards: The color is white, the sauce is thick and bright, the chicken is tender and smooth, the tripe is crisp and tender, and the taste is savory and fresh.

Key to operation: This dish is a "quick-cooking" dish, which means it is a dish that requires "rapid control of the heat". The key is to control the heat.

Of course, knife skills are also an important aspect, but I won't go into details.

The ingredients for this dish are one soft and one chewy, with different textures. The finished dish should achieve a balance of tenderness and crispness, resulting in different textures.

The chicken should be cooked by gently frying in warm oil, while the tripe should be cooked by quick, forceful, and precise addition of ingredients, all done in one smooth motion.

The sauce for this dish is thickened with starch, so it should not pile up or fall apart when served on a plate. When preparing the sauce, it is important to control the ratio of starch to broth.

22. Chicken slices with oil

Ingredients: Main ingredient: 100g chicken tenderloin. Side ingredients: 5 egg whites, 10g bamboo shoots, about 10 cooked green peas. Seasonings: 5g chopped scallions, 3g minced ginger, 10g Shaoxing wine, 3g MSG, 3g salt, 25g cornstarch, 75g chicken broth, 750g lard (approximately 75g used).

Preparation: (1) Remove the fat and tendons from the chicken tenderloin, pound it into a fine paste with the back of a knife, put it in a bowl, add egg white, wet starch, salt (1g), and clear broth (25g) and stir well; cut the winter bamboo shoots into small diamond-shaped slices and set aside.

(2) Put cooked lard in a wok and heat it over low heat until it reaches 40% of its maximum temperature. Use a ladle to scoop the chicken paste into the oil one spoonful at a time (one spoonful at a time, but do not let them stick together). Once the chicken paste floats to the surface of the oil and forms a thin sheet, remove it and drain the oil. Then rinse it in boiling water and remove it.

(3) Leave 25g of oil in the pot, heat it over medium heat until it reaches 60% of its maximum temperature, add chopped green onion and ginger to stir-fry, then add salt (2g), Shaoxing wine, bamboo shoot slices, green beans, clear broth (50g), and chicken slices to stir-fry. Add MSG and plate to serve.

Quality standards: The chicken slices are white in color, the sauce is clear and glossy, the chicken slices are tender and smooth, and the flavor is light and savory.

Key points of operation: When making this dish, the characteristics of whiteness, tenderness, and savory flavor should be emphasized. From cutting and preparation to cooking, cleanliness and meticulousness should always be maintained, ensuring that the cutting board, knife and spoon, seasonings, broth, and serving vessel are clean. Meticulousness means that the chicken mince should be pounded finely. First, add a little broth to break it up, then gradually add egg white, broth, salt, and wet starch, stirring in one direction until it becomes a thin porridge-like consistency. It is just right when it can flow automatically into a sheet when scooped into a spoon. When frying (actually poaching), use a hot spoon with warm oil, gradually heating it until it floats to the surface of the oil, achieving a white color and meticulous detail.

This dish is a soft and simmering type, with a glossy, glassy sauce. The perfect time to thicken it is when the sauce is level with the chicken slices, then drizzle in the cornstarch slurry.

23. Pounded and braised chicken slices

Ingredients: Main ingredient: 300g chicken breast. Side ingredients: 50g soaked bamboo shoots, 50g soaked shiitake mushrooms, 50g ham, 25g scallion oil, 25g mung bean starch, 750g peanut oil (approximately 50g used). Seasonings: 5g salt, 3g MSG, 15g Shaoxing wine, 750g chicken broth, 20g cornstarch slurry, a little sesame oil.

Preparation: (1) Remove the fat and white tendons from the chicken breast, slice it into 0.4cm pieces, and then cut it into 2cm square pieces.

Sprinkle the chicken slices with mung bean starch and pound them one by one with a wooden mallet until they are 0.15cm thin.

Slice the bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and ham into thin slices.

(2) Put peanut oil in a wok and heat it to 50% heat. Add the chicken slices and stir-fry until cooked. Remove from the wok.

(3) Add scallion oil to a wok and heat it over high heat until it reaches 70% of its maximum temperature. Add shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and ham and stir-fry. Then add clear broth, salt, Shaoxing wine, and MSG. After boiling, skim off any foam, add chicken slices, thicken with cornstarch slurry, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve.

Quality standards: The color is harmonious and bright, the chicken slices are white, tender and smooth, and the sauce is bright and savory.

Key to the operation: The first step in making this dish is to use a wooden mallet to loosen the muscle fibers of the chicken and extend them into large, thin slices. This should be done on a work surface and requires certain techniques. The method is to first sprinkle some dry starch, place the chicken slices on top, sprinkle some more dry starch, and then gently pound from the middle outwards to extend them into large, thin slices.

The pounding force should be even to prevent breaking the muscle fibers and creating holes. Also, the less starch you sprinkle, the better. If there is too much starch, the meat slices will become hard and tough after being stir-fried in oil. The second step is to use warm oil when stir-frying the chicken slices, and to start with light pressure and gradually increase it to prevent the starch from falling off. The third step is to make the broth thickening sauce. The broth for this dish is made with rice water, so it should be clear, the ladle clean, and the starch slurry thin. When thickening, remove the dish from the heat, skim off any foam, pour in the starch slurry, and let the starch gradually gelatinize. Then, put the chicken slices back in the heat and prepare to serve.

24. Stuffed Crucian Carp

Ingredients: Main ingredient: 1 crucian carp (approx. 500g). Side ingredients: 10g soaked sea cucumber, 10g soaked fish maw, 15g ham, 100g lean and fatty pork, 10g soaked bamboo shoots, 1 soaked shiitake mushroom, 2 soaked button mushrooms. Seasonings: 15g chopped scallions, 5g minced ginger, 5g scallion and chili paste, 100g soy sauce, 40g Shaoxing wine, 10g sugar, 300g clear broth, 75g rendered pork fat, 4g rendered chicken fat, 750g peanut oil (approx. 100g used).

Preparation: (1) Scale and remove the gills from the crucian carp, take out the internal organs from the gills and rinse them clean; cut the sea cucumber, fish belly, pork, magnolia petals, shiitake mushrooms and button mushrooms into small cubes of 0.8cm, put them into soy sauce (50g), chopped green onion (10g), chopped ginger (25g), green onion and pepper paste, Shaoxing wine (5g) and cooked lard (15g) and mix well to make filling, stuff it into the fish belly.

(2) Add peanut oil to a wok and heat it over medium heat until it reaches 80% of its maximum temperature. Then, put the crucian carp into the wok and fry for 6 minutes. Remove the fish and pour out the frying oil.

Add 60g of rendered pork fat to a wok and heat until it reaches 80% of its maximum temperature. Then add 5g of chopped scallions, 2.5g of minced ginger, 50g of soy sauce, clear broth, 3.5g of Shaoxing wine, and sugar. Add the fish and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until the broth is reduced by half. Remove the fish and place it on a serving plate. Pour rendered chicken fat into the broth and pour it over the fish.

Quality standards: The fish should have a reddish-brown color, a bright sauce, tender and delicious flesh, and a savory and slightly sweet flavor.

Key points for operation: When making this dish, pay attention to the three main steps of removing the fish's internal organs and frying and braising.

When removing the internal organs, use chopsticks to stir them clean, remove the gills, and then wash them thoroughly with warm water repeatedly. The main purpose of frying the fish is to color the skin, so it is necessary to use hot oil and stir-fry it. When stir-frying, first stir-fry it over low heat to let it absorb the flavor, and then move it to high heat to thicken the sauce.

25. Imitation Crab

Ingredients: Main ingredient: 250g yellow croaker fillet. Side ingredient: 4 duck egg yolks. Seasonings: 5g minced ginger, 5g minced scallion, 3g salt, 5g scallion segments, 10g ginger slices, 10 peppercorns, 25g Shaoxing wine, 150g clear broth, 10g cornstarch, 5g sesame oil, 100g peanut oil.

Preparation: (1) Wash the yellow croaker meat and put it in a plate.

Wash and crush the scallion segments and ginger pieces, place them in the fish plate, add Sichuan peppercorns, salt (1g), and Shaoxing wine (10g), steam over high heat until cooked, remove and let cool, remove the fish skin, take out the fish meat, and remove the bones and thorns.

Crack the duck egg yolks into a bowl and mix well. Add salt (2g), Shaoxing wine (15g), clear broth, cornstarch, and fish meat, and stir well.

(2) Add peanut oil to a wok and heat it over medium heat until it reaches 50% of its maximum temperature. Add 3g each of chopped green onion and ginger and fry until fragrant. Then pour in the duck egg yolk and fish meat from the bowl, reduce the heat to low and stir-fry until cooked. Drizzle with sesame oil, transfer to a plate, and sprinkle with chopped ginger.

Quality standards: The color is light yellow and glossy, the texture is soft, tender and smooth, and the taste is as delicious as crab meat.

Key to operation: This dish is made using the soft stir-fry method, and the key lies in the consistency of the egg yolk and fish paste, the oil temperature, and the stir-frying technique.

Egg yolk and fish paste is made by mixing egg yolks with seasonings, clear broth and starch, then adding fish and stirring until it becomes a thin porridge-like consistency. When frying, put plenty of oil in the pan, heat it over medium heat, and make sure the pan is smooth. After adding the ingredients, stir constantly with a ladle, adding some oil as needed, until it becomes cooked and thick.