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Conpoy and whole garlic, steamed and turned out

Conpoy and whole garlic, steamed and turned out

蒜子瑤柱脯
Steamed and turned outSeafoodLunar New YearReunion dinnerFor guestsTakes carehands-on 25 min · start to finish 13 hr 50 min

“This one cannot be hurried. Only start it if the day is yours.”

Ingredientsserves 6

百子櫃Dried scallop (conpoy)· the large grade8 to 10, about 75 g dry
街市Garlic· whole and peeled; solo garlic if you can find it10 to 12 cloves
雜貨舖Superior stock1 cup (250 ml)
雜貨舖Oyster sauce1 tbsp
街市Fresh ginger2 slices
雜貨舖Rice wine (cooking wine)· Shaoxing1 tbsp
雜貨舖Sugar½ tsp
雜貨舖Cornflour· cornflour, slaked in 2 tbsp water1 tsp
雜貨舖Cooking oil· for frying the garlic; strain it and use it again1 cup (250 ml)
街市Choy sum· blanched, around the plate; broccoli does the same job1 bunch

Equipment

  • A rice bowl to pack it in and a plate to turn it onto
  • A steamer, or a rack in a lidded pot
  • A small pan for frying the garlic

How the time splits

  1. 12 hrThe conpoy soaks overnighthands off
  2. 1 hrSteamed in its own liquorhands off
  3. 15 minFry the garlic, pack the bowlhands on
  4. 30 minBack in the steamerhands off
  5. 5 minThicken the sauce and turn it outhands on

Method

  1. Rinse the conpoy and soak it overnight. Pull off the hard side muscle from each one. Steam it for an hour in its own soaking liquor with the ginger and the wine.
  2. Fry the whole garlic cloves in medium-hot oil for four to five minutes until golden and soft, then lift them out to drain. This is the step the dish turns on: golden, not browned, and no rawness left in them.
  3. Pack the bowl — the garlic in a ring around the bottom, the conpoy on top, and a spoonful of the steaming liquor over. Steam thirty minutes.
  4. Pour the liquid from the bowl into a pan with the stock, the oyster sauce and the sugar, bring it to the boil and thicken it lightly.
  5. Invert the bowl onto the plate, tap it once, and lift it off. Greens around it and the sauce over the top.

Take care

  • Mollusc (conpoy and oyster sauce). Take care with the oil for the garlic: a small pan, and dry cloves going in.

The story

A restaurant New Year dish whose name is the wish itself: 蒜子 for 多子, many children, and the conpoy for what it cost. The full name also carried 髮菜 for 發財, wealth, and this page leaves it out — harvesting it has been banned since 2000 and most of what is on the shelf is imitation, so the dish keeps 多子 and the reader is told once where 發財 went. It was rarely made at home, because conpoy was dear. It is here because families who have moved already buy conpoy for soup, and this is the one dish that sets it out whole to be looked at — and because a night, an hour and a half an hour are three stages a household can plan around.

Same kind

Crackling roast pork bellyBraised shiitake in oyster sauceDongpo pork, belly braised in Shaoxing wine

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.