This prosperous eight treasures poon choy is filled with layers of flavour, perfect to celebrate success and achievement with friends and family.
Yield
4-6 Servings
Prep Time
45mins
Cook Time
60mins
Difficulty Level
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This prosperous eight treasures poon choy is filled with layers of flavour, perfect to celebrate success and achievement with friends and family.

Ingredients

  • 6-8 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 3 pcs kombu or Japanese seaweed (each roughly 10 x 3 cm)
  • 6-8 chicken wings
  • 1.2 L water
  • 300 g arrowroot (see tip), or any root vegetable of your choice
  • 1 pig trotter (about 450 g), chop into 5-cm chunks
  • 500 g stewing pork (with skin on)
  • 200 g Chinese cabbage, halve, separate the leaves
  • 6 spring onions, bruise
  • 6 cm knob of ginger, slice and bruise

SEASONING (mix well)

  • ¼ cup light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsps fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp rock sugar
  • A pinch of salt, to taste (optional)
  • 3-4 tbsps Shaoxing wine
  • White pepper powder

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

  • 500 g roast pork
  • 6 pcs canned baby abalone
  • 6 large prawns
  • 10-12 scallops
  • Lettuce leaves, to garnish
01.

Soak mushrooms together with kombu in water. Leave covered in the fridge overnight.

02.

Place chicken in a pot filled with water. Bring to boil then lower heat. Simmer for 1 hour, with the lid slightly open, to render chicken stock. Remove chicken and set stock aside. (Both wings and stock can be kept, separately, in the fridge, till ready to use.)

03.

In the meantime, skin the arrowroot (or any preferred root vegetable such as yam, radish, arrowhead and cassava). Cut arrowroot into slices, no more than 1-cm thick, removing the “eyes” as you go (if using other root vegetables, cut them as you normally would for braising). Parboil arrowroot slices in a pot of water, partially covered, for 1 hour (skip this step if using other root vegetables).

04.

Scald trotter and stewing pork in a pot of boiling water, for 1 to 2 mins, to clear impurities. Remove meats and rinse briefly. Set the meats aside.

05.

In a large pot, arrange half of the cabbage leaves to cover the base. Place parboiled arrowroot slices in one layer over cabbage leaves. Arrange scalded trotter and stewing pork on top. Scatter half of the spring onion and ginger pieces over the meats, and place prepared kombu and mushrooms on top. Pour the mushroom-and-kombu soaking liquid into the pot. Add enough chicken stock to just about cover the ingredients. Scatter the remaining spring onion and ginger pieces over. Add seasoning mixture. Cover the lot with remaining cabbage leaves. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer, with the lid slightly open, for 45 mins.

06.

Season to taste. Cook for another 10 mins, and turn off the heat. Let pot stand for half a day.

07.

When it’s time to serve, arrange the rest of the ingredients, layer by layer, over the braise. Cover the pot and simmer, with lid slightly open, for 10 mins, spooning the gravy over the ingredients occasionally. When the prawns and scallops are cooked, the poon choy is ready. Garnish with lettuce leaves – these symbolise “growth” and “advancement” – so everyone basks in prosperity as they tuck in.

TIP: Arrowroot is called “fen ge” in Mandarin and “fan gok” in Cantonese. Other names include “mealy kudzu” and “Thomson’s kudzu”. When buying arrowroot, ask a trusted seller for young tubers as the old ones remain unpleasantly fibrous and tough even after long cooking.

Recipe: Sharon Soh / Styling: Prisia Kek / Photo: Liu Hongde

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