Delicious and homestyle, just like mom’s cooking.

1 Steamed Pork with Fermented Black Beans

Ingredients:

  • Pork belly with skin – 750 grams
  • Fermented black beans from Liuyang – 50 grams
  • Sweet rice wine – 50 grams
  • Soy sauce – 25 grams
  • Salt – 1.5 grams
  • Tea oil – 500 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Singe off any remaining hairs on the pork skin using a hot iron, then place the meat in cold water and scrape it clean.
  2. Boil the pork belly in a pot of water until it is 80% cooked. Remove and dry the skin with a clean cloth, then rub the sweet rice wine on the skin while it is still hot.
  3. Heat 500 grams of tea oil in a wok over high heat until it reaches 80% of its maximum temperature. Place the pork belly skin-side down in the oil, and fry until the skin turns red. Remove the pork and briefly boil it in a pot of water until the skin wrinkles, then take it out.
  4. Place the pork belly skin-side down on a cutting board, cut it into large slices 10 cm long and 1 cm thick, then cut each slice horizontally without cutting through completely. Arrange the pork slices skin-side down in a deep bowl, placing the leftover pieces along the edges. Evenly sprinkle with salt, soy sauce, and fermented black beans. Steam the pork until it is tender, then invert the bowl onto a plate and serve.

Key Points:

  1. Use the famous “Yipinxiang” fermented black beans from Liuyang, Hunan.
  2. Place the meat in a tray and steam it in a steamer for about 15 minutes until fully cooked.
  3. Fry the pork skin until it reaches a tiger skin color and wrinkled state. During steaming, the pork fat seeps into the black beans, making the dish flavorful without being greasy.

Flavor Characteristics:

  1. Fermented black beans are a characteristic seasoning in Hunan cuisine. Archaeological finds from the Western Han Dynasty tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha, show that fermented black beans were made in Hunan over 2100 years ago. Today, Hunan black beans are made from high-quality black soybeans using a unique fermentation process, resulting in a product that is nutritious, bright in color, pure in texture, rich in flavor, and long-lasting in aroma. The famous “Yipinxiang” fermented black beans from Liuyang enjoy a high reputation both domestically and internationally. “Steamed Pork with Fermented Black Beans” is a renowned dish made using these black beans.
  2. This dish has a shiny, oily appearance with a rich aroma, a tender and flavorful taste that is not greasy. The pork skin is brown-red with a patterned appearance, resembling tiger skin, hence also known as “Tiger Skin Steamed Pork.”

2 Crispy Salted Pork Knuckle

Ingredients:

  • Front pork knuckle – 1 piece
  • Eggs – 2
  • Wet starch – 50 grams
  • Flour – 100 grams
  • Green onions – 10 grams
  • Pepper powder – 0.5 grams
  • Sesame oil – 2.5 grams
  • Refined salt – 2.5 grams
  • Cooked lard – 10 grams
  • Tea oil – 1000 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Singe off any remaining hairs on the pork knuckle with a hot iron. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes, then scrape and clean. Place the pork knuckle in a pot with 1000 grams of cold water and boil until 40% cooked. Transfer to a braising pot and cook over medium heat until 80% tender, then remove and place in a bowl. Pour 50 grams of broth from the braising pot over the pork knuckle, add 1.5 grams of refined salt, and steam until tender, creating a sauce-coated pork knuckle.
  2. Cut the prepared sauce-coated pork knuckle into 2 cm square pieces. Chop the green onions finely.
  3. Beat the eggs in a bowl and mix with flour, wet starch, cooked lard, 1 gram of refined salt, and 50 grams of water to make a batter. Coat the pork pieces with the batter.
  4. Heat tea oil in a wok over high heat until it reaches 70% of its maximum temperature. Fry the coated pork pieces until golden and crispy, adjusting the heat to avoid burning. Remove and drain the oil.
  5. While still hot, return the crispy pork pieces to the wok, add pepper powder and chopped green onions, toss a couple of times, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve on a large plate.

Key Points:

  1. Braising Pot: Used for making braised dishes. Fill a cloth bag with 15 grams of peppercorns, 25 grams of sand ginger, 25 grams of tangerine peel, 50 grams of licorice, 50 grams of star anise, 25 grams of fennel seeds, 25 grams of cloves, and 25 grams of mother cloves. Tie the bag tightly and place it in a large pot. Add 500 grams of distilled liquor, 300 grams of rock sugar, 500 grams of high-quality soy sauce, 10 grams of MSG, 15 grams of refined salt, and 500 grams of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer for 1 hour until aromatic. The braising pot can be used continuously, but ingredients should be replenished as needed. In summer, boil every night to prevent spoilage.
  2. Slow Frying: Fry slowly over low heat, or remove from heat to let the residual heat cook the inside of the ingredients thoroughly, also known as slow frying.
  3. Deboning the Pork Knuckle: To debone, make a cut along the bone and carefully separate the meat from the bone.

Flavor Characteristics:

  1. Crispy Salted Pork Knuckle is a traditional dish often served at banquets. It is prepared with great care, first braised, then battered and fried, showcasing a distinctive Hunan style.
  2. This dish combines the flavors of soy sauce and crispy frying, resulting in a golden, crispy exterior with a tender, flavorful interior, and a rich, savory aroma.

3 Xiangxi Sour Meat

Ingredients:

  • Sour meat – 750 grams
  • Green garlic – 25 grams
  • Dried red chili peppers – 15 grams
  • Meat broth – 200 grams
  • Tea oil – 100 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Scrape off the cornmeal adhering to the sour meat and place it in a porcelain plate. Cut the sour meat into slices 5 cm long, 3 cm wide, and 0.7 cm thick. Finely chop the dried red chili peppers and cut the green garlic into 3 cm long segments.
  2. Heat a wok over high heat, add tea oil and heat until 60% hot. Add the sour meat and chili pepper flakes and stir-fry for 2 minutes. When the sour meat releases oil, push it to the side of the wok, add the cornmeal and fry until it turns yellow. Combine the cornmeal with the sour meat, pour in the meat broth, and simmer for 2 minutes until the broth is slightly reduced. Add the green garlic, stir-fry a few times, and serve on a plate.

Key Points:

  1. Sour Meat: Use 5000 grams of fatty pork, singe off the hairs, scrape clean, and drain. Cut into large pieces 7 cm long, 15 cm wide, and weighing 100 grams each. Marinate with 150 grams of refined salt and 50 grams of pepper powder for 5 hours. Then mix with 2000 grams of cornmeal and 100 grams of refined salt, place in a sealed jar, and marinate for 15 days.
  2. While stir-frying the meat, keep stirring and turning the wok to prevent sticking and ensure even coloring.
  3. Use minimal oil when frying the cornmeal. If there is too much oil, pour some out.
  4. Add enough meat broth to just cover the ingredients in the wok. Adding too much will dilute the flavor and make it difficult to reduce.

Flavor Characteristics:

  1. Sour meat is a traditional delicacy with unique flavors, popular among the Miao and Tujia ethnic groups in Xiangxi.
  2. The dish is yellow, fragrant, spicy, slightly sour, rich but not greasy, with a thick and flavorful sauce.

4 Crispy Fried Pork Intestines

Ingredients:

  • Pork intestines: 750 grams
  • Ginger slices: 10 grams
  • Eggs: 2
  • Sichuan peppercorns: 1 gram
  • Sichuan pepper powder: 0.5 grams
  • Flour: 75 grams
  • Wet starch: 75 grams
  • Soy sauce: 25 grams
  • Mixed bone broth: 500 grams
  • Refined salt: 12.5 grams
  • Shaoxing wine: 75 grams
  • Yellow vinegar: 50 grams
  • Sesame oil: 2.5 grams
  • Rendered lard: 1000 grams
  • Scallion knot: 10 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Straighten and cut open the intestines, wash away impurities with water, and place them in an earthenware pot. Rub with 10 grams of refined salt, 50 grams of yellow vinegar, and 25 grams of Shaoxing wine to remove the odor. Wash twice with water, blanch in boiling water, and cut into large pieces about 13 cm square. Heat 25 grams of rendered lard in a wok to 60% hot, stir-fry the intestines, then add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, 1.5 grams of refined salt, Sichuan peppercorns, scallion knot, ginger slices, and 250 grams of mixed bone broth. Bring to a boil to infuse flavors, then remove from heat.
  2. Place a bamboo mat at the bottom of a large earthenware pot, pour the intestines and seasoning into the pot, add 250 grams of mixed bone broth, cover with a porcelain plate, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then simmer over low heat for 1 hour until the intestines are tender. Remove the intestines, let them cool, and cut into strips 4 cm long and 1 cm wide.
  3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, add flour, wet starch, 1 gram of refined salt, 5 grams of lard, and 25 grams of water to make a batter. Coat the intestine strips with the batter.
  4. Heat a wok over high heat, add the rendered lard, and heat to 70% hot. Fry the intestine strips until golden brown, then pour the contents into a colander to drain the oil. Serve on a plate, drizzle with sesame oil, and sprinkle with Sichuan pepper powder.

Key Points:

  1. The batter should have a consistency similar to tahini. If too thin, it won’t coat the ingredients; if too thick, it will make the final product hard.
  2. Use plenty of oil and high heat to achieve the right color when frying.

Flavor Characteristics:
“Crispy Fried Pork Intestines” is a meticulously prepared dish, first braised and then fried. The final product is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a golden and attractive color and a fragrant aroma. This is a traditional famous dish in Changsha.

5 Bitter Melon Stuffed with Meat

Ingredients:

  • Fresh bitter melon: 750 grams
  • Garlic cloves: 50 grams
  • Peeled pork: 300 grams
  • Small dried shrimp (jin gou shrimp): 15 grams
  • Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms: 25 grams
  • Egg: 1
  • Flour: 25 grams
  • Wet starch: 100 grams
  • Soy sauce: 15 grams
  • Pepper powder: 0.5 grams
  • MSG: 0.5 grams
  • Refined salt: 1.5 grams
  • Sesame oil: 1.5 grams
  • Rendered lard: 1000 grams (about 75 grams used)

Cooking Method:

  1. Cut off both ends of the bitter melon and cut it into 4 cm long segments, making 24 pieces. Remove the seeds and pith, blanch in boiling water to remove bitterness, and then place in a bowl of cold water. Squeeze out excess water by fitting each segment over the left index finger and squeezing with the right hand. Place them in a large bowl. Soak the small dried shrimp in cold water for about 10 minutes, and clean the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms thoroughly.
  2. Wash and finely mince the pork into a paste. Cut the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and small dried shrimp into tiny pieces and place them in a bowl with the pork. Add the egg, flour, 25 grams of wet starch, and refined salt, and mix well to make the filling. Stuff each bitter melon segment with the filling and seal both ends with 50 grams of wet starch.
  3. Heat a wok over high heat, add the rendered lard and heat to 60% hot. Quickly fry the garlic cloves until fragrant and remove them. Add the stuffed bitter melon segments, gently stir until the surface turns light yellow, and remove. Arrange them upright in a large bowl, sprinkle with fried garlic, and add soy sauce. Steam until cooked through.
  4. Heat a wok over high heat, add 50 grams of rendered lard, and heat to 70% hot. Pour the original steaming juice from the bitter melon into the wok, bring to a boil, add MSG, and thicken with 25 grams of wet starch dissolved in water to make the sauce. Turn the stuffed bitter melon onto a large porcelain plate, pour the sauce over, sprinkle with pepper powder, and drizzle with sesame oil.

Key Points:

  1. Ensure the stuffing ingredients are fresh to maintain the dish’s color and taste. Bitter melons with a diameter of about 3 cm are most suitable.
  2. Steam over high heat for 10 minutes.

Flavor Characteristics:

  1. Chinese cuisine has the saying, “Spring is sour, summer is bitter, autumn is spicy, winter is salty.” The bitterness of summer dishes mainly comes from bitter melon, also known as “jin litchi” and belonging to the gourd family. The Ming Dynasty’s “Materia Medica of Southern Yunnan” records its benefits in detail: “Bitter in taste, cold in nature. Enters the heart, spleen, and lung meridians. Removes evil heat, relieves fatigue, clears the heart and improves eyesight, drains excess fire from the six meridians, clears summer heat, benefits qi, and stops thirst.” The people of Hunan love eating bitter melon, and stuffed bitter melon is considered one of the best dishes.
  2. This dish has a fresh, fragrant, soft texture, a savory taste with slight bitterness and spiciness, and a light yellow sauce, making it a perfect summer delicacy.

6 Osmanthus Pork Tendons

Main Ingredients and Seasonings:

  • Fried pork tendons: 100 grams
  • Pepper powder: 0.5 grams
  • Egg yolks: 4
  • Shaoxing wine: 2.5 grams
  • Egg whites: 2
  • MSG: 1 gram
  • Cooked ham: 15 grams
  • Refined salt: 3 grams
  • Lean pork: 50 grams
  • Sesame oil: 1.5 grams
  • Clear meat broth: 250 grams
  • Cooked pork fat: 1.5 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Soak the fried pork tendons in cold water a day before cooking to rehydrate. Cut them into 4 cm long, 0.7 cm square strips. Blanch in boiling water to remove surface fat, then drain and set aside.
  2. Heat 15 grams of cooked pork fat in a wok over high heat. Add the tendons, Shaoxing wine, 1 gram of salt, and meat broth. Cook for 2 minutes to remove any residual flavors. Remove the tendons, press them to drain excess water, and set aside. Finely chop the ham and mix with egg whites and minced lean pork.
  3. In a large bowl, combine egg whites and egg yolks, beat with chopsticks, then add MSG, 2 grams of refined salt, and the pork mixture. Mix well.
  4. Heat 75 grams of cooked pork fat in a wok over high heat. Add the egg mixture and tendons. Stir-fry quickly, making sure the egg coats the tendons. Drizzle 25 grams of cooked pork fat around the edges of the wok while stirring, until the egg turns golden brown. Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with chopped ham and pepper powder, and drizzle with sesame oil.

Key Techniques:

  1. For the pork tendons, cut off one end of each tendon. Heat 1500 grams of tea oil in a wok over medium heat. Fry the tendons, keeping the oil temperature at 40-50% heat, until they float. Remove from heat, add a small amount of water, and return to medium heat for about 5 minutes until fully cooked. The tendons should be flexible and have a honeycomb appearance when cut.
  2. Stir-fry the egg and tendons quickly, ensuring that the egg yolk disperses and adheres to the tendons.
  3. Adjust the oil quantity to ensure the egg does not clump together or burn the wok.

Flavor Characteristics:

  1. This dish features fried pork tendons with a soft and fluffy texture. The egg yolk, resembling osmanthus flowers, coats the tendons, giving the dish its name. It is one of the famous dishes in Hunan cuisine.
  2. Pork tendons are tendons from the joints of pigs, cows, or sheep. Pork tendons, especially those from the hind legs, are known for their length, thickness, and high collagen content. They are mildly sweet and slightly cold, with benefits including blood replenishment, lactation promotion, and wound healing.
  3. The dish is dry with a tender taste and soft texture. The scattered egg yolk covering the tendons makes it suitable for all ages.

7 Red-Braised Pork Tendons

Main Ingredients and Seasonings:

  • Dried pork tendons: 100 grams
  • Salt: 3 grams
  • Soaked yam slices: 50 grams
  • Soy sauce: 25 grams
  • Soaked shiitake mushrooms: 50 grams
  • MSG: 2 grams
  • Cooked chicken: 50 grams
  • Broth: 200 grams
  • Peanut oil: 1000 grams (approx. 100 grams used)
  • Pepper powder: 2 grams
  • Sesame oil: 15 grams
  • Pork fat: 100 grams
  • Scallions: 10 grams
  • Cooking wine: 25 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Heat peanut oil in a pan until it reaches 40% heat. Add the dried tendons and stir continuously. Once they float, remove the pan from the heat and splash water to cool it. Fry for about 5 minutes, then return to heat and fry until completely cooked, breaking easily when twisted and showing a honeycomb appearance. Remove and drain excess oil. Soak in boiling water to rehydrate, then cut each tendon into two pieces and further divide them. Briefly soak in a small amount of baking soda, rinse twice with warm water, and squeeze out excess fat. Blanch in cold water, bring to a boil, and drain.
  2. Cut the chicken, yam slices, and shiitake mushrooms into strips the same size as the tendons. Cut the scallions into sections.
  3. Heat pork fat until boiling. Add the yam slices, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken, and stir-fry. Add cooking wine, soy sauce, salt, and broth. Add the tendons, then add MSG and simmer to infuse flavors. Thicken with diluted starch, add scallion sections, pepper powder, and sesame oil. Transfer to a serving plate.

Key Techniques:

  • Soak tendons in boiling water and use a heavy weight to keep them submerged.

Flavor Characteristics:

  • There are two types of pork tendons: water-soaked and oil-soaked. This dish uses oil-soaked tendons, which are bright, tender, and flavorful.

8 Stuffed Pork Stomach

Main Ingredients and Seasonings:

  • Fresh pig stomach: 1
  • Ginger slices: 10 grams
  • Dried scallops: 25 grams
  • Broth: 600 grams
  • Pork: 200 grams
  • Black vinegar: 50 grams
  • Soy sauce: 100 grams
  • Chicken: 50 grams
  • Pepper powder: 0.5 grams
  • Soaked button mushrooms: 50 grams
  • MSG: 1 gram
  • Winter bamboo shoots: 100 grams
  • Salt: 23 grams
  • Job’s tears (Coix seeds): 50 grams
  • Chicken fat: 5 grams
  • Scallion sections: 10 grams
  • Cooked pork fat: 50 grams
  • Scallion knots: 10 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Gently scrape the surface of the pig stomach with a knife, then soak it in cold water and scrub. Rub with 10 grams of salt, 25 grams of black vinegar, and 25 grams of soy sauce. Rinse thoroughly, then boil in cold water, remove, and rub again with 10 grams of salt, 25 grams of black vinegar, and 25 grams of soy sauce. Rinse, then add to a pot with scallion knots and ginger slices, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove, cool, and turn inside out.
  2. Clean and dice the pork and chicken into 0.7 cm cubes. Blanch in boiling water, then rinse and drain. Soak the Job’s tears in water, then steam for 10 minutes. Drain and shred the dried scallops. Dice the button mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, and ham into 0.7 cm cubes.
  3. In a large bowl, combine pork fat, chicken fat, Job’s tears, button mushrooms, and winter bamboo shoots. Add 2.5 grams of salt and mix well. Add the dried scallops, ham, 50 grams of pork fat, 50 grams of soy sauce, and 0.5 grams of MSG, and mix thoroughly. Stuff the mixture into the pig stomach.
  4. Place the stuffed pig stomach into a green-glazed ceramic bowl. Steam over high heat for 1 hour, then add the broth and 0.5 grams of salt. Continue steaming for 1.5 hours. Remove, add scallion sections, 0.5 grams of MSG, and drizzle with chicken fat. Sprinkle with pepper powder, and serve on a green-glazed ceramic plate.

Key Techniques:

  1. When scraping the pig stomach, do so gently to avoid tearing the inner layer.
  2. The pig stomach can also be cleaned with flour or warm alkaline water.
  3. Steam the dried scallops with chicken broth, scallions, ginger, and cooking wine until cooked.
  4. Do not overstuff the pig stomach to prevent overflow during steaming as it contracts.

Flavor Characteristics:

  1. “Stuffed Pig Stomach” is a renowned dish in the Zhou’an cuisine, known for its rich ingredients. The stuffed pig stomach resembles a large pouch, hence the name.
  2. Job’s tears (Coix seeds) are seeds from the grass family, known for their sweet, bland, and cooling properties. They contain proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins, amino acids, and other compounds. They are used to strengthen the spleen, supplement the lungs, clear heat, and relieve dampness.
  3. This dish features a clear, slightly yellow broth and resembles a pouch. The pig stomach is tender and flavorful, with ingredients that blend together to create a rich, smooth, and savory taste.

9 Phoenix Egg Stomach

Main Ingredients and Seasonings:

  • Cooked pig stomach: 60 grams
  • Eggs: 400 grams
  • Lean pork: 100 grams
  • Soaked shiitake mushrooms: 25 grams
  • Dried shrimp: 25 grams
  • Cooked ham: 50 grams
  • Scallions: 10 grams
  • Chicken broth: 300 grams
  • Pepper powder: 0.5 grams
  • MSG: 1.5 grams
  • Salt: 3.5 grams
  • Chicken fat: 50 grams
  • Cooked pork fat: 50 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Clean the shiitake mushrooms and soak the dried shrimp in water for 5 minutes. Chop the ham and lean pork into fine pieces. Add these ingredients to the bowl with the eggs, then add the cooked pork fat, 3 grams of salt, and 1 gram of MSG. Mix thoroughly with chopsticks.
  2. Stuff the mixture into the cooked pig stomach, with the opening facing up. Place the stuffed stomach into a ceramic bowl and steam for 1 hour. Once the egg and ingredients adhere to the pig stomach, it is ready. Remove, let cool, and drain. Cut the stomach in half (one pig stomach makes two servings). Slice each half into 5 cm long and 2 cm thick half-moon shaped pieces, ensuring each piece has some pig stomach with the egg and ingredients attached. Arrange the pieces in a large bowl and keep warm.
  3. Before serving, garnish with chopped scallions, sprinkle with pepper powder, and drizzle with chicken fat.

Key Techniques:

  • Adjust the chicken broth according to personal taste preferences.

Flavor Characteristics:

  • Each slice of the stuffed pig stomach features four colors: yellow, white, red, and brown, making it visually appealing. The pig stomach is tender, and the ingredients are soft and flavorful, creating a delightful taste.

10 Mushroom Soup with Stuffed Pig Stomach

Main Ingredients and Seasonings:

  • Fresh pig stomach tip: 200 grams
  • Shaoxing wine: 10 grams
  • Soaked shiitake mushrooms: 50 grams
  • Pepper powder: 0.5 grams
  • Pea shoots: 12 pieces
  • MSG: 1 gram
  • Clear chicken broth: 500 grams
  • Salt: 2 grams
  • Mixed bone broth: 500 grams
  • Cooked chicken fat: 70 grams

Cooking Method:

  1. Clean the pig stomach tip, removing the fatty membranes. Place the stomach with the skin side down and the inside facing up on a cutting board. Use a knife to make fish-scale cuts: first, make vertical cuts every 0.2 cm, ensuring they do not cut through, to a depth of 2 cm. Then make diagonal cuts every 0.5 cm. The first and second cuts should not be cut through, while the third cut should be cut through to form long strips, which are then cut into pieces 4 cm long and 3 cm wide. Clean the soaked shiitake mushrooms, slice them into 2 cm thick pieces, and wash the pea shoots.
  2. Heat the clear chicken broth in a wok until boiling. Add the shiitake mushroom slices and pea shoots, then season with 1.5 grams of salt, MSG, and pepper powder. Bring to a boil, pour into a large soup bowl, and drizzle with cooked chicken fat.
  3. Heat the mixed bone broth in a wok until boiling. Season the pig stomach tip with Shaoxing wine and 0.5 grams of salt, then mix well to infuse the flavors. Add the pig stomach tip to the broth, briefly simmer, and then remove and place on a plate. Serve the pig stomach tip along with the chicken broth on the table.

Key Techniques:

  1. Use the pig stomach tip, the tenderest part near the opening. Remove the skin and clean it thoroughly.
  2. The cutting technique is crucial for the pig stomach tip: the fish-scale pattern not only enhances appearance but also helps the flavors penetrate and ensures even cooking. Make cuts evenly spaced and to consistent depths, with diagonal cuts reaching about 2/3 of the thickness and vertical cuts reaching about 3/4.
  3. To make the pig stomach tip tender and crisp, you can soak it in a small amount of alkaline solution for about half an hour after cutting, then rinse thoroughly to remove the alkaline taste.
  4. For the best results, the pig stomach tip should be blanched in boiling soup over high heat. The timing is crucial: too long and the pig stomach will become tough, too short and it won’t cook properly. Ideally, the color should change from deep to light, and the texture should shift from soft to crisp. Blanching the main ingredient and preparing the soup should ideally be done simultaneously.
  5. For the clear chicken broth: steam a whole hen (about 750 grams) in a large ceramic bowl with 750 grams of water and 5 grams of salt over high heat for 2 hours. Remove the hen to yield 750 grams of clear chicken broth.
  6. When garnishing the soup, use seasonal vegetables and avoid scallions or wild vegetables.

Flavor Characteristics:

  1. This dish, known for its delicate flavor and texture, originated from the “Yulou Dong” restaurant in Changsha during the late Qing Dynasty. It has since become famous across various regions, with the Ma Kai restaurant in Beijing gaining recognition for its version. The renowned drama researcher Xu Jichuan even composed an impromptu poem praising the dish: “Relying on my horse, I shy away from singing triumphantly, and taste the wine of oblivion. With the craftsmanship of Yi Ya, Hunan flavor prevails, and this pig stomach tip in soup reigns supreme in the capital.”
  2. The dish features a visually appealing contrast of white and green. The shiitake mushrooms are tender, and the pig stomach tip is crisp. The clear, fragrant broth enhances the fresh and delightful taste of the dish.