Scaleless Aquatic Creatures 8: Soft-Shelled Turtle Braised in Soup (湯煨甲魚)

Boil a soft-shelled turtle in water, remove its bones, and tear the meat into pieces. Braise it in chicken broth, autumn sauce, and wine, reducing the liquid from two bowls until there is one bowl. Serve the soup, blending it with green onions, Szechuan pepper, and ground ginger. The household of Wu Zhuyu prepares this …

Scaleless Aquatic Creatures 7: Soft-Shelled Turtle with Grey Salt (青鹽甲魚)

Chop a soft-shelled turtle into four pieces and stir-fry thoroughly in a hot wok. For every jin of the turtle, braise it with four liang of wine, three qian of star anise, and one and a half qian of salt until half done. Add two liang of rendered lard and chop the turtle into small …

Scaleless Aquatic Creatures 6: Bone-in Soft-Shelled Turtle (帶骨甲魚)

Take a soft-shelled turtle weighing half a jin1 and chop it into four pieces. Add three liang of rendered lard to a heated wok and pan-fry the turtle so that the pieces are golden brown on both sides. Braise with water, autumn sauce, and wine, first with a hot flame then a gentle flame. Add …

Scaleless Aquatic Creatures 5: Soft-Shelled Turtle Stir-Fried with Soy Sauce (醬炒甲魚)

Par-boil a soft-shelled turtle,1 remove its bones, heat up a wok, and stir-fry over high heat. Add soy sauce, water, green onions, Szechuan pepper, reduce the cooking liquid to a sauce, and serve. This is a Hangzhou recipe. 醬炒甲魚 將甲魚煮半熟，去骨，起油鍋炮炒，加醬、水、蔥、椒，收湯成鹵，然後起鍋。此杭州法也。 Notes: 1 Parboiling raw meat ingredients before stir-frying is de rigueur in Chinese cuisine especially …

Scaleless Aquatic Creatures 4: Raw Stir-fried Soft-Shelled Turtle (生炒甲魚)

Remove the bones from a soft-shelled turtle1 and stir-fry it over high heat using sesame oil. Add one cup of autumn sauce and one cup of chicken broth. This recipe most definitely comes from the household of Prefect Wei. 生炒2甲魚 將甲魚去骨，用麻油炮炒之，加秋油一杯、雞汁一杯。此真定魏太守家法也。 Notes: 1 One of the most commonly raised and consumed soft-shell turtles is: Pelodiscus …

Scaleless Aquatic Creatures 3: Fried Eel (炸鰻)

Choose a large eel, remove its head and tail, and chop it into inch-long1 segments. First, fry them in sesame oil until thoroughly cooked and place them on the side. Take the tender tips of fresh chrysanthemum greens2 and stir-fry them until done, using the oil previously used to cook the eel. Next, place the …

Scaleless Aquatic Creatures 2: Red-Cooked Eel (紅煨鰻)

Braise the eel in wine and water until soft, adding sweet sauce instead of the usual autumn sauce.1 Reduce the broth, add fennel seeds and star anise, then plate it. There are three common errors when cooking this eel dish. First, the skin had become marked by wrinkles and folds, thus rendering it no longer …

Scaleless Aquatic Creatures 1: Eel in Broth (湯鰻)

It is best to avoid cooking eel with its bones removed. The item is naturally fishy in smell, but one should not over manipulate or attempt to control it, lest we risk losing its natural character. Like Reeve's shad, it should not be cooked without its scales. To prepare it plain braised, take a river …

Scaleless Aquatic Creatures (水族無鱗單)

Aquatic creatures that lack scales are significantly fishier in smell than their counterpart. Thus, they require much greater attention in their preparation. Their shortcomings can be overcome through the judicious use of ginger and cinnamon. The following is the list of “Aquatic Creatures without scales”. 魚1無鱗者，其腥加倍，須加意烹飪，以薑，桂勝之。作"水族無鱗單"。 Note: 1The character 魚 (yu2, “fish”) when used in …