Kai Shui Bai Cai (Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth)

Ingredients

• 1 boiling hen, about 1.5kg, jointed
• 500g pork ribs
• 500g pork or chicken bones
• 1 duck carcass or 2 duck legs
• 100g Jinhua or other dry-cured ham, in one piece
• 60g ginger, bruised
• 4 spring onions, tied in a knot
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 4 litres cold water
• 200g minced chicken breast
• 150g minced lean pork
• 2 heads Chinese leaf
• 1 tsp fine salt, or to taste

Before you cook

• Soak the hen, ribs, bones and duck in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water twice.
• Blend the minced chicken with 150ml of cold water and the minced pork with 100ml of cold water, keeping the two mixtures separate and cold.
• Strip the outer leaves from the Chinese leaf until only the pale yellow hearts remain, then trim each heart to about 10cm.

Steps

1. Put the drained hen, ribs, bones and duck in a stockpot and cover them with the cold water.
2. Bring it slowly to the boil, skimming the grey foam away as it gathers.
3. Add the ham, ginger, spring onion knot and Shaoxing wine.
4. Turn the heat right down so only one or two bubbles break the surface at a time.
5. Simmer the stock uncovered for 4 hours without ever letting it boil, which is what keeps it clear.
6. Strain the stock through a fine sieve lined with muslin into a clean pan and discard the solids.
7. Chill the stock briefly and lift off every trace of fat from the surface.
8. Bring the strained stock to 80C, warm enough to steam but not to bubble.
9. Stir in the pork mixture and keep stirring gently for 10 minutes as it gathers up the cloudiness.
10. Lift out the raft of pork with a slotted spoon and throw it away.
11. Stir in the chicken mixture and repeat the process for another 10 minutes.
12. Strain the broth once more through fresh muslin, by which point it should be pale and completely clear.
13. Season the broth with the salt, tasting until it is savoury but still delicate.
14. Bring a separate pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the cabbage hearts for 90 seconds.
15. Drop the cabbage into iced water to fix its colour, then drain it.
16. Pierce each cabbage heart several times with a skewer so the broth can travel through it.
17. Sit the hearts in a bowl, pour over a ladleful of hot broth, then tip that broth away.
18. Repeat the pouring twice more, which warms and seasons the cabbage without cooking it further.
19. Arrange the hearts in a wide shallow bowl and pour the clear broth around them.
20. Serve at once, and tell people to taste the broth before they touch the cabbage.