Fujian Fo Tiao Qiang

Legend holds that the aroma of this luxurious one-pot stew was so bewitching that a nearby Buddhist monk leapt over a wall to taste it — hence the name "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall." The dish is the pinnacle of Fujianese banquet cooking, simmering dried seafood and premium ingredients together in a clay pot until their essences meld into a profound, amber-coloured broth.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 200g (7 oz) pork belly, cut into 3cm (1¼ in) chunks
• 150g (5 oz) chicken thighs, bone-in, cut into large pieces
• 60g (2 oz) dried scallops (conpoy), soaked in cold water 2 hours, water reserved
• 40g (1½ oz) dried sea cucumber, rehydrated overnight, cut into bite-size pieces
• 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
• 120g (4 oz) taro, peeled and cut into 3cm (1¼ in) chunks
• 100g (3½ oz) bamboo shoots, sliced
• 6 quail eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
• 3 tbsp (45ml) Shaoxing rice wine
• 2 tbsp (30ml) light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (15ml) oyster sauce
• 1 tsp (5ml) dark soy sauce
• 3 slices fresh ginger
• 2 spring onions, tied in a knot
• 500ml (2 cups) chicken stock
• Reserved scallop soaking water (strained)

Instructions

1. Blanch pork belly and chicken in boiling water for 3 minutes; drain and rinse.
2. In a clay pot or heavy Dutch oven, layer pork belly, chicken, and taro at the bottom. Add shiitake, bamboo shoots, sea cucumber, and dried scallops.
3. Pour in chicken stock and reserved scallop water. Add Shaoxing wine, light soy, oyster sauce, dark soy, ginger, and spring onions.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to the lowest simmer. Cover tightly and cook 1 hour 30 minutes.
5. Nestle quail eggs into the pot. Cook a further 20 minutes until taro is tender and broth is deeply fragrant.
6. Remove ginger and spring onion knot. Serve directly from the clay pot at the table.

Cook's Notes: The soaking water from the dried scallops is intensely flavoured — do not discard it. Sea cucumber requires careful rehydration: soak for 24 hours, changing the water twice, before use. This dish improves dramatically if made the day before and gently reheated.