Li Hongzhang Hotchpotch

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, about 1.2 kg
• 120 g Jinhua ham or dry-cured ham
• 2 rehydrated sea cucumbers
• 150 g cleaned squid
• 200 g raw prawns, peeled
• 80 g rehydrated fish maw, optional
• 100 g winter bamboo shoots
• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 150 g Chinese cabbage heart
• 80 g glass noodles
• 40 g fresh ginger
• 4 spring onions
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp chicken fat or lard
• 1 tbsp cornflour

Before you cook

• Soak the dried shiitake in warm water for forty minutes, then squeeze them out and keep the liquid.
• Soak the glass noodles in cold water for twenty minutes.
• Score the squid in a crosshatch and cut it into pieces the size of a postage stamp.
• Slice the sea cucumbers on the diagonal into thick pieces.
• Cut the bamboo shoots and the ham into thin slices.
• Cut the cabbage heart into wedges, slice the ginger, and cut the spring onions into lengths.
• Mix the cornflour with two tablespoons of cold water.

Steps

1. Put the chicken into a large pot with three litres of cold water, half the ginger and half the spring onion.
2. Bring it to the boil, skim the surface clean, then simmer very gently for fifty minutes.
3. Lift the chicken out and let it cool until you can handle it.
4. Strain the broth into a clean pan and skim off most of the surface fat.
5. Pull the chicken meat off the bones and tear it into large bite-sized pieces.
6. Bring a separate pan of water to the boil with the remaining ginger and spring onion.
7. Blanch the sea cucumber for one minute, then lift it out.
8. Blanch the squid for twenty seconds, until it curls, and lift it out.
9. Blanch the fish maw and bamboo shoots for one minute each and drain them.
10. Bring the strained chicken broth to a simmer and add the mushroom soaking liquid, taking care to leave the grit behind.
11. Add the ham, shiitake, bamboo shoots and sea cucumber, then simmer for fifteen minutes.
12. Pour in the Shaoxing wine and season with the salt and white pepper.
13. Add the chicken, fish maw and drained glass noodles and simmer for five minutes.
14. Slide in the prawns, squid and cabbage wedges and cook for two minutes, just until the prawns turn opaque.
15. Stir the cornflour slurry and trickle it in, swirling to give the broth a light body rather than a thick sauce.
16. Spoon the chicken fat over the surface, ladle everything into one large warm bowl, and serve at the centre of the table.