Stir-fried Tender Pigeon with Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
- 2 pigeons
- 250 grams pork
- 150 grams fresh water chestnuts
- 25 grams ham
- 50 grams garlic chives
- 25 grams dried mushrooms
- 75 grams lettuce leaves
- 2 spring onions
- 1 gram ground Sichuan pepper
- 3 grams MSG
- 25 grams cooking wine
- 5 grams salt
- 20 grams Zhejiang vinegar
- 100 grams broth
- 35 grams wet cornstarch
- 100 grams lard
Cooking Method:
- Parboil the pigeons, remove feathers, gut them, and clean thoroughly. Remove the skin and dice the meat finely along with pork. Mix with chopped spring onions, salt, spices, and cooking wine. Marinate for 5 minutes, then remove the spring onions and set aside.
- Cut water chestnuts, mushrooms, ham, and garlic chives into small pieces. Chop spring onions and Sichuan pepper finely. Wash and shape the lettuce leaves into rounds and divide into two bowls. In a small bowl, mix broth, MSG, salt, Zhejiang vinegar, and wet cornstarch to make a slurry.
- Heat a wok, add lard, stir-fry the chopped spring onions and Sichuan pepper until fragrant, then add the minced pigeon and pork mixture. Stir-fry until cooked, then add water chestnuts, mushrooms, garlic chives, and ham. Stir-fry until everything is cooked through. Add cooking wine and pour in the slurry, stirring until the sauce thickens. Quickly toss and transfer to a serving plate.
Key Techniques:
- Lettuce Wrapping: This dish is served with lettuce leaves for wrapping, hence the name “Pigeon Song Lettuce Wraps.”
- Variation: Similar ingredients and methods can be used to make dishes like “Crab Song,” “Heron Song,” or “Oyster Sauce Song.”
- Coating: When thickening the sauce, ensure it’s just enough to coat the ingredients without making them clump together.
Flavor Characteristics:
- Pigeon meat is tender and flavorful, with a rich taste and pleasant aroma. In traditional Chinese medicine, pigeon meat is considered neutral and salty, beneficial for nourishing the kidneys, boosting qi, dispelling wind, and detoxifying. It’s used to treat conditions like post-illness weakness, thirst, intestinal wind-induced bleeding, blood deficiency, and amenorrhea. Additionally, it’s effective for alleviating dizziness, fatigue, and memory decline.
- Pigeon Song has a delicate and tender texture, savory taste, and is uniquely enjoyed wrapped in fresh lettuce leaves, adding a delightful touch to the dining experience.
