Regarded as an auspicious dish, Pen Cai is a symbol of prosperity and harmony. With its aesthetic appearance and carefully layered ingredients, Pen Cai is essential in the Chinese New Year celebration. Our Pen Cai recipe allows you to share the dish with your loved ones without feeling overwhelmed.
Read on to learn how to make this easy Pen Cai recipe and create a sense of bond and connect with the people around you.
Meal: Lunch, Dinner Cuisine: Chinese
Preparation time: Cooking time: Total time: Yield: 4-5 servings
Ingredients
Seafood
150g sea cucumber
20 large prawns
20 small scallops
200g canned baby abalone
Meat
200g roasted pork
200g roasted duck/chicken
Meatless Protein
80g tofu puffs
50g pork skin, blanched and cut into strips
Vegetables
5 broccoli florets
1 small carrot, sliced
6 shiitake mushrooms
4 napa cabbage leaves, cut into large chunks
200g daikon, cut into 2cm slices
Soup Base
300ml chicken stock
Sauce Mixture
240ml chicken stock
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 1 tbsp of water
Equipment
1 medium pot
1 scissors
1 slotted basket
1 small pot
1 heavy-bottom pot (clay pot or Dutch oven)
Directions
Prepare the seafood
First, rehydrate the sea cucumber by boiling it in a medium pot over medium heat.
Meanwhile, grab your scissors and remove the veins of the prawns. Do not remove the head and shells.
Next, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Using a slotted basket, reheat the baby abalone (canned abalones are cooked) for 5 seconds, remove, and set aside.
Place the scallops in the slotted basket and cook for 3-4 seconds.
Lastly, cook the prawns in boiling water until they turn pink.
Prepare the vegetables
In a small pot, blanch the broccoli and carrots for about 3 minutes. Once done, refresh the broccoli and carrots with ice-cold water.
If you’re using dried shiitake mushrooms, be sure to soak them in warm water so they become soft and plump.
Prepare the broth
In a heavy bottom pot, add chicken broth, napa cabbage, and daikon. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Then, layer your Pen Cai with mushrooms, sea cucumber slices, fried tofu puffs, and pork skin. Lower the heat, cover your pot and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to the lowest while you’re making your sauce.
Prepare the sauce
Bring the chicken stock to a boil, and add oyster sauce, wine, and sugar. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Next, pour the cornstarch solution and stir continuously until the sauce thickens.
Finishing up
Finish up your decadent dish by layering the final layer with prawns, abalone, broccoli, carrots, roast pork, roast chicken, and scallops.
Before serving, drizzle everything with the thickened sauce.
How to Layer Your Pen Cai
For our Pen Cai recipe, we suggest layering your Pen Cai with vegetables (napa cabbage and daikon) and meatless protein, then add mushrooms, sea cucumber slices, fried tofu puffs, and pork skin for the middle layer. Lastly, finish with prawns, abalone, broccoli, carrots, roast pork, roast chicken, and scallops.
Having said that, remember that nothing is set in stone and that you can always layer your Pen Cai dish however you see fit! For instance, some people prefer to put more vegetables on the top layer.
Get Your Ingredients
Get the ingredients you need to make this delicious Pen Cai recipe, such as prawns, scallops, vegetables, and more at pandamart. Simply browse our extensive list of ingredients online and get them delivered right to your doorsteps by our friendly riders!
