Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Cantonese Braised Fish Maw with Shiitake Mushrooms
冬菇炆魚肚
Recipe overview
Dried fried fish maw is rehydrated and degreased, then gently braised with shiitake mushrooms and napa cabbage until soft, springy and full of savoury sauce.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 150 g dried fried fish maw
- 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 300 g napa cabbage
- 20 g ginger
- 2 spring onions
- 2 cloves garlic
Soaking
- 1.5 litres water (for soaking fish maw and mushrooms)
Braising seasoning
- 500 ml low-sodium chicken stock
- 1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
Finishing slurry
- 1.5 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water (for mixing the slurry)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
02
Tools
- large bowl
- plate
- chopping board
- kitchen knife
- saucepan
- colander
- heavy covered pot
- wooden spoon
- small bowl
- food thermometer
03
Steps
Step 1
Soak the fish maw
Soak fish maw in some of the water for 4 hours, weighing it down with a plate, until fully pliable with no hard core.
Step 2
Squeeze out the oil
Gently squeeze the fish maw in clean water three times, changing the water each time, then squeeze dry.
Step 3
Soak the mushrooms
Soak mushrooms in some of the water until soft, squeeze dry and remove the stems; halve large mushrooms.
Step 4
Blanch the fish maw
Boil the remaining water with half the ginger and 1 spring onion, simmer the fish maw for 5 minutes, then drain.
Step 5
Cut the ingredients
Cool and cut fish maw into 5 cm pieces; cut cabbage into sections, slice remaining ginger and garlic, and dice remaining spring onion.
Step 6
Fry ginger and garlic
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and fry ginger and garlic for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Step 7
Cook mushrooms and stems
Add mushrooms and the thicker cabbage stems; stir for about 2 minutes until the stems soften slightly.
Step 8
Add braising liquid
Pour in stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar and white pepper; bring to a gentle simmer.
Step 9
Braise gently
Add fish maw and cabbage leaves, cover and braise over low heat for 25 minutes, turning gently once.
Step 10
Check doneness
Fish maw should be soft and springy with no hard core; the liquid must bubble and the centre reach 63°C. Braise 5 minutes more if firm.
Step 11
Thicken lightly
Mix cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water, add gradually to the simmering sauce while stirring, and cook about 1 minute until lightly thickened.
Step 12
Finish and serve
Turn off the heat, stir in sesame oil, scatter over spring onion and rest 2 minutes before serving with the sauce.
Common mistakes
- Under-soaking fish maw and leaving a hard centre.
- Scrubbing softened fish maw so forcefully that it breaks.
- Boiling hard throughout so the outside breaks before the centre softens.
- Pouring in all the slurry at once and making a lumpy or overly thick sauce.
Tips
Fish maw thickness varies, so soak until it bends easily with no hard core. Keep the braise at a gentle simmer and add slurry gradually, stopping when the sauce lightly coats the pieces.
