Yan Du Xian

Yāndǔxiān

Ham and Pork Shank soup with winter bamboo
Place of origin	China
Region or state	East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Western Asia
Cookbook: Yāndǔxiān  Media: Yāndǔxiān

Yāndǔxiān (腌笃鲜) is a Shanghainese soup made from a duo of cured pork and fresh pork with fresh winter bamboo shoots.

Origin

Many Chinese dishes have names adopted from folklore. "Yān" means salted pork, and "dǔ" represents the sound of the boiling soup, and "xiān" describe the delicate flavor of the soup. Yāndǔxiān is one of the typical local cuisine.

Recipe

Time

• Preparation time: 30 minutes
• Slow cooking time: 3 hours

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. pork ham shank cut up into eight pieces
• 2 lbs. bone-in ham (Smithfield Ham) cut up into eight pieces
• 1 (about 3/4 lb.) fresh winter bamboo shoot (冬筍) or 1/2 lb. canned bamboo shoots
• 1-inch nub of fresh ginger root
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 5 cups pork stock or water
• 2 scallions cut into 1-inch pieces for garnish

Steps

Soak the ham in four cups of water for about three hours to dissolve some of the salt. Discard the water. Par-boil both the smoked ham and the fresh ham shank in a stockpot with five cups of water on medium heat. Skim off any scum forming on top of the liquid. Cook for about 20 minutes. Remove the meat and put in a large Chinese clay pot. Strain the liquid from par-boiling through a fine sieve and pour into the clay pot. Or you can discard the liquid and use fresh water instead. Peel off the tough outer leaves from the bamboo shoots. The simplest way to accomplish this is to cut the shoot lengthwise into halves and then remove the leaves. Par-boil the bamboo shoots in a stockpot with about four cups of water over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Drain the shoots and let cool. Slice the shoots very thinly crosswise when cool. Put the bamboo shoot slices into the clay pot.

Crush the ginger root with a knife and put in the clay pot. Add white pepper and simmer the soup covered over very low heat. Cook for about three hours. Just before serving add the scallion for garnish and ladle the broth into a small bowl along with small an amount of the smoked ham, fresh ham shank and some bamboo shoot slices.^[1]

See also

• Cuisine of China

References