Free Chinese Recipes

Ingredients

• 675 g (1 1/2lb) shark’s fin
• 1.8-2.2 kg (4-5 lb) duck
• 2 medium onions
• 50 g (2 oz) winter bamboo shoots
• 8 medium Chinese dried mushrooms
• 37 ml (2 1/2 tablespoons) lard (use oil if not available)
• 4 slices toot ginger
• 250 ml (1/2 pint) chicken stock
• 60 ml (4 tablespoons) soy sauce
• 90 ml (6 tablespoons) Chinese yellow wine, or dry sherry
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) sugar
• 1.25 liters (2 1/2 pints) water
• 22 ml (1 1/2 tablespoons) corn flour blended in 90 ml (6 tablespoons) water

Serve 10

** Free Chinese Recipes **

Method:

1. Prepare the shark’s fin by soaking in water overnight, then steaming for 3 hours. Dip it in boiling water to blanch for 3 minutes. Wash under running water and drain.

2. Clean the duck parboil for 3 minutes and drain. Cut the onions into thin slices and the bamboo shoots into thick slices; soak the mushrooms in hot water for 20, minutes and remove the stalks.

3. Heat 7 ml (1/2 tablespoon) lard in a frying pan. Add 15 ml (1 tablespoon) onion and ginger. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the chicken, stock, 30 ml (2 tablespoons) soy sauce, 45 ml (3 tablespoons) yellow wine or sherry, sugar and the shark’s fin. Bring to the boil, and, simmer for 15 minutes until the liquid in the pan has been reduced to a quarter, turning the fins over every 5 minutes.

4. Discard the onion and ginger. Stuff the shark’s fin into the cavity of the duck, and sew to secure. Place the duck on a flat bamboo or wooden frame - in a large earthenware pot or casserole. Pour in just enough water to submerge the duck.

5. Add the remainder of the onion, ginger and soy sauce. Bring the contents to the boil, and simmer gently for 2 hours. Skim off any impurities. Add the bamboo shoots and mushrooms and adjust for seasoning. Continue to simmer for 2 more hours. Remove and discard the onion and ginger.

6. Lift the duck out, and place it in the centre of a deep-sided dish. Bring the soup to the boil, add the corn flour and the balance of the lard. Stir over a high heat, for 3-4 minutes. Pour the resulting soup over the puck in the dish, and serve.

7. The duck meat should now be so tender that it can be taken off the bones quite easily. This may be eaten in conjunction with the shark’s fins which tan easily be extracted from die cavity of the duck. The mushrooms and bamboo shoots nibbled as ‘extras’.