Article 94: Analysis of Famous Guangdong Dishes (Dishes 21-25): Daliang Fried Milk, Braised Chicken with Five Snakes, Suckling Pig, Braised Civet Cat, Braised Civet Cat with Three Snakes

21. Stir-fried fresh milk in Daliang

Ingredients: Main ingredients: 250g fresh milk, 25g chicken liver, 25g crab meat, 25g marinated shrimp, 25g fried olive kernels. Additional ingredients: 250g egg white, 15g cooked lean ham. Seasonings: 4g salt, 3.5g MSG, 20g cornstarch, 500g rendered pork fat.

Preparation: (1) Cut the ham into small cubes about 0.15cm square; cut the chicken liver into slices 2cm long and 2cm wide.

Mix 50g of milk with the dry starch.

Add salt and MSG to the egg whites and mix well.

(2) Blanch the chicken livers in boiling water until just cooked, then drain them in a colander.

Heat a wok over medium heat, add 250g of rendered pork fat, heat to 40% of its maximum temperature, add shrimp and chicken liver and stir-fry until cooked, then drain the oil using a slotted spoon.

(3) Heat a wok over medium heat, add milk (200g), heat until it just boils, then remove it from the wok. Add the dry starch, egg white, chicken liver, shrimp, crab meat and ham that have been mixed with milk, and stir well.

(4) Heat a wok over medium heat, add lard to coat the wok and pour it back into the oil basin; add 25g of lard, add the milk that has been mixed with the ingredients, stir and stir while adding 20g of oil twice each time, stir until it becomes a paste, then add fried olive kernels, drizzle with lard (5g), stir well and plate, pile it into a mountain shape to serve.

Quality standards: The milk is bright white and glossy, the texture is tender, smooth and fresh, the ingredients are faintly visible, and it is soft, chewy and fragrant.

Key to operation: This dish is a soft stir-fry, and the key lies in the preparation of the milk paste and the stir-frying technique.

The milk base of this dish is prepared by adding dry starch and then mixing it with the other ingredients. When adding the dry starch, stir vigorously to ensure that the starch is fully dissolved. When mixing with the other ingredients, add the egg white first and stir well before adding the other ingredients. When stir-frying, pay attention to using medium heat, the pan should be smooth, stir in one direction, and add an appropriate amount of oil to make it shiny and smooth.

22. Braised Silkie Chicken with Five Snakes

Ingredients: Main ingredients: 1 snake shell (300g cooked snake meat removed), 1 black-boned chicken (approx. 750g). Side ingredients: 50g cleaned chicken meat, 100g soaked turtle stomach, 50g soaked shiitake mushrooms, 50g soaked wood ear mushrooms, 5g egg white, 3g dried tangerine peel, 10g dried longan pulp, 250g sugarcane, 100g fried crispy fried dough, 10g cleaned lemon leaves, 4 cleaned white chrysanthemums (approx. 30g), 100g finely shredded ginger, 50g ginger slices, 4 scallion strips (approx. 30g). Seasonings: 6g salt; 6.5g MSG, 5g dark soy sauce, 0.15g white pepper powder, 20g Shaoxing wine, 5g ginger juice wine; 30g cornstarch, 750g chicken stock, 200g light stock, 300g rendered pork fat (approx. 100g used).

Preparation: (1) Divide the crispy crackers into two small dishes; take the petals of the chrysanthemum and place them on the crispy crackers; cut the lemon leaves into thin strips and place them on the chrysanthemum, then serve as a side dish.

(2) Cut the chicken, soaked turtle belly, shiitake mushrooms and wood ear fungus into thin strips.

Soak the shredded ginger in a bowl of water.

(3) Wash the snake shell and put it into a clay pot. Add 2500g of water, 30g of ginger slices, dried tangerine peel, dried longan pulp, and sugarcane. Simmer over medium heat until the meat is tender.

Remove the snake, cool it in cold water, and then gently remove the snake meat from head to tail.

Wrap the snake bones in a clean cloth and put them back into the casserole. Add the cleaned black-boned chicken and simmer for about 1 hour and 30 minutes until tender. Remove the black-boned chicken and take the chicken legs and skin (200g) and shred them into thin strips.

Take out the dried tangerine peel and cut it into thin strips.

Remove the snake bones, sugarcane, and longan pulp. Filter the snake soup with a clean cloth and keep 1250g for later use.

(4) Cut the snake meat into sections about 5cm long, and then shred it into thin strips.

Heat a wok over medium heat, add lard (40g), stir-fry snake shreds briefly, add Shaoxing wine (10g), snake broth (250g), MSG (2.5g), and salt (2.5g), stir-fry until well mixed, transfer to an earthenware pot, add ginger slices (10g) and 2 scallion strips, steam over medium heat for about 1 hour, then remove.

(5) Put the ginger shreds into a pot of boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes. Take them out and rinse them in clean water. Repeat this boiling and rinsing process three times to remove the spiciness of the ginger shreds. Then soak them in clean water.

Add 500g of boiling water to a pot, then add the shredded wood ear mushrooms, shredded turtle belly, and shredded mushrooms in that order and blanch for about 30 seconds each. Remove and drain.

Heat a wok over medium heat, add 10g of rendered pork fat, 10g of ginger slices, and 2 scallion strips. Add 5g of ginger juice and cooking wine, 200g of stock, and 1g of salt. Add the shredded turtle belly and shredded wood ear mushrooms and simmer for about 30 seconds each. Remove them, drain the water, and discard the ginger slices and scallion strips.

(6) First, mix the shredded chicken with egg white, then mix with wet starch (2.5g).

Heat a wok over medium heat, add 250g of rendered pork fat, heat to 30% of its maximum temperature, add the shredded chicken and fry until just cooked, then drain the oil using a slotted spoon.

Return the pot to the stove, add 15g of rendered pork fat, 10g of Shaoxing wine, 750g of stock, and 1000g of snake broth. Bring to a boil, then add shiitake mushrooms, turtle stomach, wood ear mushrooms, shredded chicken, shredded ginger, shredded dried tangerine peel, and shredded snake. Add salt (2.5g), MSG (4g), pepper (0.15g), and soy sauce. Thicken with cornstarch slurry. Drizzle with rendered pork fat and stir well.

Quality standards: The sauce should be thin, clean, and bright, with a rich umami flavor, a smooth and mellow taste, a crisp, tender, soft, salty, and slightly spicy texture, and a vibrant array of colorful ingredients.

Key to preparation: This dish is a stew-style soup, characterized by its diverse ingredients and rich flavor.

The key to the preparation of this dish is to highlight the freshness of the meat from five kinds of venomous snakes (Bungarus sinensis, Cobra, Banded krait, Three-lined snake, and White-flowered snake) and black-boned chicken (also known as Silkie chicken), chicken breast, shredded ginger, shredded mushrooms, shredded fish maw, and shredded wood ear fungus.

Because the above ingredients contain a variety of amino acids, the key to the quality of this dish lies in how to combine them into a complex and delicious flavor through the heating process.

The key to highlighting the "freshness" lies in the initial cooking process of these ingredients, such as the cooking, stir-frying, and simmering of snake meat, the cooking of black-boned chicken, the blanching of chicken breast, and the blanching and simmering of ginger, fish maw, and mushroom shreds. These processes allow the ingredients and seasonings to blend into a delicious flavor. Finally, the addition of broth and seasonings further enhances the flavor, resulting in a dish with a wonderful taste.

The above-mentioned seasoning techniques are the key to making this dish.

23. Suckling pig (peeled)

Ingredients: Main ingredient: One whole suckling pig (about 5000g). Seasonings: 5g minced garlic, 65g white sugar, 100g sweet sauce, 25g fermented red bean curd, 25g sesame paste, 7.5g Fenjiu liquor, 65g five-spice salt, 150g sweet and sour sauce for roasted suckling pig, 25g peanut oil.

Preparation: (1) Slaughter the suckling pig, open the cavity, and cut straight from the mouth to the tail. Remove the internal organs (keep the kidneys); split the spine along the midline, but do not break the skin, so that it can be flat. Wash and drain; make a cut at each tooth joint to separate the upper and lower parts; remove the third rib and the fan bone, and make several cuts on the thick meat of the fan bone and the rump meat so that it can be spread out freely, and can easily absorb flavor and be heated evenly.

(2) Coat the inside cavity with five-spice salt, hang it up with an iron hook, and let it air-dry for about 30 minutes until it is dry. Then mix the soybean paste, fermented red bean curd, sesame paste, Fenjiu liquor, garlic, and white sugar (25g), apply it, and continue to air-dry for 20 minutes. Then insert an iron fork from the buttock, along the skin, through the fan bone joint, and straight to the cheek (do not break through the abdominal skin and elbow skin). After the fork is in place, place the pig skin outwards at an angle, rinse it with clean water to remove the oil stains on the skin, then pour boiling water to make the outer skin swell slightly, and then coat the skin with sugar and vinegar.

(3) Hold the fork handle and place the pig on the charcoal stove. Use a small fire to roast the inner cavity first, for about 15 minutes, until it is half-cooked.

Use a 4cm wide wooden strip to pry open its cavity.

When doing the brace, one vertical brace extends from the hips to the neck; two horizontal braces are placed on the front shoulder blades and the back leg, respectively.

Three wooden strips are joined together to form an I-shape, supporting the pig's body into a semi-cylindrical shape.

Then tie the roasted, bent trotters with straw rope, and tie the front and hind legs together with wire to make the whole pig lie prone.

(4) Divide the embers in the oven into two piles, front and back, and roast the pig's head and buttocks for about 10 minutes until they turn a bright red color. Then, evenly spread peanut oil on the pig's skin.

Then straighten the charcoal into a straight line and roast the whole pig for about 30 minutes, until the skin turns bright red.

When baking, rotate the fork quickly and rhythmically, and ensure even heating.

If you find small blisters on the pigskin, immediately prick them with an iron needle to release the air, but do not prick the meat.

(5) Slicing method: ① Place the roasted suckling pig diagonally on the cutting board with the fork, remove the binding material from the front and hind hooves, make a horizontal cut behind the ear and at the back of the buttocks on the pig's back, then make a vertical cut along the spine, and make two cuts on each side to cut into four rectangular strips of pig skin of equal size, and slice them out with a knife.

Place a large bowl over the center of a large plate, then place the pig on the plate, remove the fork, and keep it in a downward position.

Cut the sliced ​​pig skin into 32 pieces, and put it back on the pig's back in its original position for the first serving.

②After eating all 32 pieces of skin, take the pig back to the kitchen, remove the wooden strips, and cut off the other parts of the skin and meat as follows: cut off the pig's ears and tail, then take out the pig's tongue and cut it into two pieces.

Chop off one of the lower segments of the front and back of the pig, and split each pig in two; use a knife to scrape straight down to the nose on the pig's forehead, remove the skin and meat, and then scrape off the skin and meat from both cheeks.

Cut the kidney into thin slices and remove the abdominal meat from both sides.

Arrange the skin and meat on a plate, skin side up, in the above order to form the original pig shape, for the second serving.

Cut the abdominal meat into pieces 4.5cm long and 3cm wide, and place them on a plate; then cut the forehead and nose into pieces of the same size and place them in the middle in front of the abdominal meat; cut the cheek meat into pieces and place them on both sides; place one tongue on each side of the nose.

Next, place the pig's ears upright on both sides behind the cheeks; place the tail upright behind the belly meat; place the front hooves on both sides in front of the belly meat; place the hind hooves on both sides behind the belly meat; and arrange the kidney slices along the midline of the belly meat.

Quality standards: The skin is bright red and crispy, the meat is tender and flavorful, and the shape is beautiful and shiny.

Key to the operation: "Sliced ​​suckling pig" is also known as "roast suckling pig". It is made by opening the belly, spreading the upper fork, roasting the inner cavity first, and then roasting the outer skin.

The key to its operation lies in how to open the belly and the temperature during roasting.

The requirements for opening the abdomen are that the pig's body is flat, the skin is intact, and the bones are loose to facilitate heat penetration.

When opening the abdomen, first split along the midline of the sternum, then extend to the mouth (split the head), tail, and then split along the midline of the spine from the inside of the abdomen while the skin remains connected. This is the first step to pay attention to when opening the abdomen. The second step is to use a knife to cut the ribs, pull apart the inside of the front and hind legs, pull apart the outside of the ears, and pull apart the claw joints. At this point, the pig's body is flat and soft, making it easy to fork it up.

When scalding the skin, the suckling pig is placed on a rectangular iron pool (overhead position) and boiling water is poured on it starting from the ears. This is repeated several times and then the pig is wiped dry. When roasting, the pig cavity is roasted first. A tall vertical oven is used, and the pig is suspended inside the oven to roast.

When roasting the skin, a rectangular open oven is used, on which the pig is placed horizontally. The charcoal is burned to a smokeless red flame, and a slow fire is used. The key is to control the distance between the suckling pig and the charcoal fire, and to keep moving it from side to side. While roasting, it is brushed with sweet and sour liquid, and finally coated with peanut oil before roasting.

24. Braised Civet Cat

Ingredients: Main ingredient: 1 civet cat. Side ingredients: 100g roasted pork belly, 25g rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, 50g fried garlic, 2.5g dried tangerine peel powder, 2.5g cleaned lemon leaves, 0.5g minced garlic, 0.5g minced ginger, 10g ginger slices, 15g long scallion strips. Seasonings: 2.5g salt, 5g MSG, 1.5g sugar, 0.1g white pepper, 10g oyster sauce, 1g sesame oil, 8.5g dark soy sauce, 15g ginger juice wine, 25g Shaoxing wine, 10g cornstarch, 850g light stock, 1000g peanut oil (approximately 125g used).

Preparation: (1) Put the civet in an iron cage, pry open the cage with tongs, pour in 5-10g of wine, and when the civet is drunk and sprays white foam from its mouth, cut off its throat with a knife to bleed it. Then soak it in 75℃ hot water to remove the hair, singe off the fine hair with straw fire, scrape and wash it clean, and open its belly to remove the internal organs.

After washing, take 750g of meat and cut it into pieces weighing about 20g each (reserve the rest of the meat for other uses).

Cut the pork into 6 pieces; cut the lemon leaves into thin strips.

(2) Put the raccoon meat into a pot of boiling water (blanch) for about 1 minute, then take it out and wash it.

Heat a wok over medium heat, add peanut oil (20g), stir-fry scallions, ginger slices, and cat meat, add ginger juice and wine, add chicken stock (100g), simmer for about 1 minute, drain in a colander, and remove ginger and scallions.

(3) Heat a wok over medium heat, add peanut oil (25g), add minced garlic, minced ginger, and raccoon meat and stir-fry. Add Shaoxing wine, second stock (750g), salt, MSG, sugar, oyster sauce, and dried tangerine peel powder. Cook for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a clay pot lined with bamboo mats. Cover and simmer over low heat until 70% cooked. Add roasted pork, shiitake mushrooms, and garlic, and simmer for about 1 hour until tender. Add soy sauce, thicken with cornstarch slurry, sprinkle with pepper, and finally drizzle with sesame oil and peanut oil (35g). Stir well and plate. Place lemon leaf strips on both ends of the plate.

Quality Standard: The sauce is bright red and glossy, and the civet meat is tender, juicy, and fragrant.

Key to the operation: The key to making this dish lies in removing its unpleasant odor, enhancing its flavor, and making it tender and delicious.

Civets have varying degrees of fishy and gamey odor. After slaughtering and removing the spinal cord, they need to be simmered with various seasonings such as scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, licorice, galangal, and angelica root, and then blanched in boiling water to remove the fishy and gamey odor. The key to enhancing the flavor lies in the stir-frying and simmering stages during the cooking process. In addition to using some seasonings to enhance the flavor, mastering the heat is an important aspect. Stir-frying, cooking with ginger juice and Shaoxing wine all require high heat, hot oil, and short cooking times, while simmering with broth and seasonings requires low heat and a long cooking time.

25. Leopard Civet Stewed with Three Snakes

Ingredients: Main ingredients: 1 snake shell (about 300g cooked meat), 500g leopard meat with bones. Side ingredients: 50g cleaned chicken, 50g soaked shiitake mushrooms, 50g soaked black fungus, 5g egg white, 100g soaked turtle stomach, 3g dried tangerine peel, 10g dried longan pulp, 250g sugarcane, 100g fried crispy fried dough, 10g cleaned lemon leaves, 4 cleaned white chrysanthemums (about 30g), 100g finely shredded ginger, 60g ginger slices, 6 scallion strips. Seasonings: 6g salt, 6.5g MSG, 0.15g white pepper, 5g dark soy sauce, 20g Shaoxing wine, 15g white wine, 15g ginger juice wine, 30g cornstarch, 750g stock, 200g light stock, 250g rendered pork fat (about 100g used), 15g peanut oil.

Preparation: (1) Divide the crispy crackers into two small dishes; take the petals of the chrysanthemum and place them on the crispy crackers; cut the lemon leaves into thin strips and place them on the chrysanthemum, then serve as a side dish.

(2) Cut the chicken, soaked turtle belly, shiitake mushrooms and wood ear fungus into thin strips.

Soak the shredded ginger in water.

(3) Put the leopard civet meat into a pot of boiling water and boil for about 1 minute. Remove it and drain the water. Singe off the hair with fire. Put it in a basin of clean water to scrape off the dirt. Remove it and drain the water.

Heat a wok over medium heat, add peanut oil, ginger slices (10g) and scallions (2 stalks), stir-fry the leopard cat, add ginger juice and wine (10g), add 150g of boiling water, simmer for about 10 minutes, remove the ginger slices and scallions, and drain the water using a slotted spoon.

(4) Wash the snake shell, put it in a clay pot, add 2500g of water, 30g of ginger slices, dried tangerine peel, longan pulp and sugarcane, cover and cook over medium heat until the meat can be removed. Take it out and put it in cold water to cool, then gently remove the snake meat from head to tail.

Wrap the snake bones in a clean cloth, put them back into the casserole, add the leopard cat and white wine, and cook for about 1 hour and 30 minutes until tender. Remove the leopard cat, debone it, and cut the meat into thin strips.

Cut the dried tangerine peel into shreds.

Remove the snake bones, sugarcane, and longan from the casserole. Filter the snake soup with a clean cloth and set aside 1250g.

(5) Cut the snake meat into sections about 5cm long, and then shred it into thin strips.

Heat a wok over medium heat, add 40g of rendered pork fat, stir-fry the snake shreds briefly, add 10g of Shaoxing wine, 250g of snake broth, 2.5g of MSG, and 2.5g of salt, mix well, place in an earthenware pot, add 10g of ginger slices and 2 scallions, steam over medium heat for about 1 hour, and remove.

(6) Put the ginger shreds into a pot of boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes. Take them out and rinse them in clean water. Repeat this boiling and rinsing process 3 times to remove the spiciness of the ginger shreds. Soak them in clean water for later use.

Add 500g of boiling water to a pot, then add the wood ear mushrooms, shredded turtle belly, and shredded mushrooms, and blanch each for about 30 seconds. Remove and drain.

Heat a wok over medium heat, add 10g of rendered pork fat, 10g of ginger slices, and 2 scallions. Add 5g of ginger juice and cooking wine, 200g of stock, and 1g of salt. Add the shredded turtle belly and shredded wood ear mushrooms, simmer for 30 seconds each, then remove and drain. Remove the ginger slices and scallions.

(7) First, mix the shredded chicken with egg white, then mix with wet starch (2.5g).

Heat a wok over medium heat, add rendered pork fat, and when it reaches 30% of its maximum temperature, add shredded chicken and stir-fry until just cooked. Drain the oil using a slotted spoon.

Return the pot to the stove, add 15g of rendered pork fat, 10g of Shaoxing wine, 750g of stock, and 1000g of snake broth. Bring to a boil, then add shredded shiitake mushrooms, turtle tripe, wood ear mushrooms, chicken, ginger, dried tangerine peel, snake, and civet cat. Add 2.5g of salt, 4g of MSG, 0.15g of pepper, and soy sauce. Thicken with 275g of cornstarch slurry, and finally drizzle with 20g of rendered pork fat and stir well.

Quality standards: The sauce should be thin, smooth, and flavorful, with a bright and harmonious color, and the snake meat should be tender, fresh, and fragrant.

Key to the preparation: This dish is a stewed snake and civet soup. The initial cooking of various ingredients is crucial to the quality of the dish, such as civet, snake shell (skinned and gutted snake meat with bones), shredded ginger, shredded mushrooms, and shredded turtle stomach (Guangdong tripe).

In particular, the initial cooking of raccoon dogs and snakes is an important process for removing unpleasant odors and enhancing flavor, and it must be done according to the recipe.

For example, blanching ginger shreds three times is an essential process to reduce the spiciness of ginger and enhance the freshness of snake shreds; secondly, pay attention to ensuring that the shreds of various ingredients are of uniform length and thickness; thirdly, when finally pouring in the broth, the broth should be boiling but not bubbling, stirred evenly, and the consistency should be like rice water. After skimming off the foam, lard should be poured in.