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Double-boiled chicken with sea conch (whelk)

Name: Double-boiled chicken with sea conch (whelk)
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cantonese
Ingredients: Dried conch / sea snail head 1 frozen 響螺頭, or 75 g dried 螺頭; Fresh chicken (whole or half) half a bird; Lean pork 150 g; Dried Chinese yam 20 g; Goji berry / wolfberry 8 g; Dried longan flesh 8 g; Candied honey date 1

響螺頭燉雞

nourishes yinsupports the kidneysmoistens the lungscalms the spiritbrightens the eyesclears heatAutumnWinter double-boiled · 3.5 hours A$36–48

“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”

Ingredients

百子櫃Dried conch / sea snail head· soak dried 螺頭 overnight to reconstitute; blanch with ginger and wine to take off the smell1 frozen 響螺頭, or 75 g dried 螺頭

街市Fresh chicken (whole or half)· blanchedhalf a bird

街市Lean pork150 g

百子櫃Dried Chinese yam20 g

百子櫃Goji berry / wolfberry8 g

百子櫃Dried longan flesh8 g

百子櫃Candied honey date1

Method

隔水燉 (double boiling, where the jar sits in water rather than over direct heat): put the ingredients in a family sized 燉盅, pour in about 1 litre of boiling water to just cover, seal with cling film (traditionally 紗紙, mulberry paper) and put the lid on, fill the outer pot to a third or half way up the jar, and cook for 3 to 4 hours. 螺頭 stands up to long cooking and only tastes sweeter for it. Salt goes in last.

Soak dried 螺頭 overnight to reconstitute it, or thaw the frozen kind, then blanch it (汆水, a quick boil) with ginger and wine to take off the smell.
Chop the fresh chicken into pieces and blanch it with the lean pork.
Put everything into the 燉盅 (double-boiling jar) and pour in boiling water to just cover.
Seal with cling film, put the lid on, and double boil (隔水燉, the jar sits in water rather than over direct heat) for 3 to 4 hours.
Season with salt before drinking.

Who it suits

regular late nights
dry, gritty eyes
a dry mouth and tongue
students and office workers who sleep badly

Who should take care

people with a weak, cold digestion or who get diarrhoea easily should be careful
not for people with gout, seafood is high in purines
no double-boiled tonics while a cold is still unresolved (general warning across this collection)

Soup stories

響螺 is the king of shellfish at a Cantonese banquet. The jar version uses frozen 響螺頭 and is the home-scale format of the restaurant conch double-boil. Hung Fook Tong sells it positioned as 滋陰補腎, nourishing yin and supporting the kidneys.

From the same family

Double-boiled lean pork with ginseng and dendrobiumA$12–66

人參石斛燉瘦肉

replenishes qinourishes yinmoistens the lungsAll year

百子櫃Korean red ginseng· 8 g百子櫃Dendrobium stem· 12 g街市Lean pork· 300 g百子櫃Candied honey date· 4街市Fresh ginger· 4 slices

“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”

Double-boiled chicken with cordycepsNot yet surveyed (we say so honestly)

冬蟲夏草燉雞

supports the kidneysreplenishes qisoothes cough3h slow fireWinter

百子櫃Cordyceps· 3 to 5 pieces, about 2 to 3 g街市Fresh chicken (whole or half)· half街市Lean pork· 100 g街市Fresh ginger· 2 slices

“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”

Double-boiled teal with cordycepsNot yet surveyed (we say so honestly)

冬蟲草燉水鴨

moistens the lungssupports the kidneyssoothes cough3.5h slow fireWinter

百子櫃Cordyceps· 3 to 5 pieces百子櫃Teal (small wild-type duck)· 1百子櫃Dried fig· 2百子櫃Aged dried tangerine peel· a quarter piece街市Fresh ginger· 2 slices

“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.