Recipe: Poon Choy with Rich Golden Broth

Poon Choy with Rich Golden Broth

By Margarita Lee

Broth

Ingredients:

• 1 Old hen (cut into 8 pieces)
• 1kg Pig tail bone (cut into pieces)
• 2 Pig’s trotter (cut into pieces)
• 10 pairs Chicken feet (cut off the claws) 
• 1 Dried cuttlefish 
• 200g Chinese Jin Hua ham ( 金华火腿）(sliced into pieces) 
• 50g Small dried scallop 
• 50g Dried prawn 
• 100g Old ginger (sliced into pieces )
• 500ml Cooking oil
• 20g Rock sugar

Method:

1. Wash the old hen, pig tail bones, pig trotter, chicken feet and Jin Hua ham, then put them individually in boiling water and blanch for 5 minutes and remove them. 
2. Rinse them thoroughly under running tap water. Pat dry with kitchen towels and leave aside. 
3. Heat oil in a wok and fry all the blanched ingredients in batches until golden brown. Set aside. (**See note) 
4. With the same oil, fry the ginger, dried scallop, dried prawn and dried cuttlefish.
5. Transfer all the fried ingredients and rock sugar into a pressure cooker, add sufficient water to cover all the ingredients and simmer for 3 hours. 

**Note: It is a must to fry all of the ingredients before boiling as this is the base of the colour and aroma of the broth. The broth will appear milky if frying is not completed. 

 

Money Bag Dumpling

Filling:

• 100g Minced chicken
• 100g Minced prawn
• 3-4 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (softened and diced)
• 50g Finely chopped water chestnut
• 50g Onion (Diced)
• 3 cloves Garlic (finely minced)
• 2 stalks Green onion (finely sliced)
• 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp Cooking oil
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 2 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar 
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 2 tsp Cornstarch with water 

Method:

1. Heat cooking oil in a pan. Sauté diced garlic and onions until aromatic. Add in minced chicken and minced prawn, cook for 1 minute. 
2. Add in water chestnuts. Stir in the oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar. 
3. Add salt and pepper to taste and thicken with cornstarch. Add sesame oil and mix well. Dish out. 

Wrappers:

• 1 tbsp Water
• 3 tbsp Cornstarch
• 6 Eggs
• 2 tsp Cooking oil

1. Add water to the cornstarch to make a paste. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and add the cornstarch paste.
2. Heat a small non-stick pan (15cm) over medium heat. Add the cooking oil and coat the pan evenly. Once the pan is hot, add about 3 tablespoons of egg mixture or enough to lightly and evenly coat the bottom of the pan, swirling the skillet as you add the egg mixture. 
3. Sauté for about 30 seconds per side or until lightly golden, then flip using a thin spatula and sauté for another 30 seconds or until the second side is golden. Transfer the cooked omelette onto a clean surface and cool to room temperature. This omelette is the dumpling wrapper. Repeat steps with the remaining egg mixture. 

Assembly of the Money Bag Dumpling:

1. Trim the rough edges of the wrapper to form a circle. 
2. Add 2 tablespoons of the cooked filling to the middle of the wrapper. Fold up the sides to form a pouch. Pinch tightly to enclose the filling and tie with blanched spring onion to secure the money bag. Repeat with the remaining wrappers. 

Optional: Chop a carrot into rounds and with a star-shaped cookie cutter, press out star-shaped carrots. Decorate dish with carrot stars. 

 

Poon Choy

Ingredients:

• 150g Dried fish maw (soaked and softened)
• 10 Dried mushrooms (soaked and softened)
• 4 Dried sea cucumbers (washed; soaked and softened)
• 8 pcs Dried oyster (soaked and softened) 
• Pig skin (washed, softened, cut into bite-sizes)
• 100g Tofu stick 腐竹 (softened and cut into bite-sizes) 
• 8 pcs Tiger prawns
• 8 pcs Fresh abalone
• 500g Roast duck (store bought)
• 8 pcs Money Bag Dumplings 
• 200g Broccoli (florets only) 
• 200g Napa cabbage (cut into chunks) 
• 150g White radish (cut into chunks)

Ingredients for Finishing and Thickening of Broth:

• 50ml Shaoxing Wine 
• 4 tbsp Cornstarch
• 800ml Prepared broth
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Method:

1. Soak and prepare all ingredients in advance. (See note)
2. Blanch the fish maw, sea cucumber, pig skin, mushrooms, dried tofu sticks and dried oysters, then cook in hot water in batches. 
3. Braise the fish maw, sea cucumber, pig skin, mushrooms, dried tofu sticks and dried oysters individually with the prepared broth until tender.
4. Bring water to a boil, then blanch the tiger prawns for 3 minutes, the fresh abalones for 2 minutes, the broccoli for 20 seconds, and the white radish and Napa cabbage for 5 minutes.  

Layering the Poon Choy:

1. Start with Napa cabbage, white radish, tofu stick and pig skin. 
2. Then, arrange the rest of the ingredients in sections to your liking. 

Finishing and Thickening of Broth

1. Bring the broth back to a boil.
2. Add Shaoxing Wine and let simmer for one minute. 
3. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture into the boiling broth and stir while adding. 
4. Pour the broth in the pot of ingredients in layers.
5. Bring the whole pot of Poon Choy back to the stove and bring it to a boil. Alternatively, serve over an induction hotplate.

Note:

• The duration of soaking the dried ingredients depends on the type and quality you bought. Please check with the seller or instructions on the packaging.
• The weight and choice of ingredients may vary depending on your preferences. 
• Additional optional ingredients that you can add to Poon Choy are: dried or fresh scallop, roast pork, steamed chicken, fried wontons and fish balls.

 

Check out more of Margarita’s recipes on her FB @ Umummy Food

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