Hakka Wok Drizzle Soup

The Hakka are a centuries old Chinese sub-group originating from the great plains of China. Often this group were oppressed and became migrants heading southwards to the coastal areas.

The recipe takes its name from how the soup is prepared. There are two distinct stages -firstly making the broth and secondly toasting and adding the rice flour.

As with many of these dishes it will vary village to village, so there is not one distinct version. Like most resourceful cooks you learn to make do with the ingredients that are available.

In The Curse of Gluttony, our Mrs Chan is christened the ‘Queen of Broth’, this is her version of the soup from her childhood.

Ingredients

450g of ground pork

450g of chicken

200g of shitake mushrooms

200g of chestnut mushroom

3 cloves of garlic

1 large knob of ginger

1 tbsp of fish sauce

100g of dried shrimp

2 litres of water

2 stalks of celery

4 Spring onions

200g of lardons (rendered to make crispy)

300g of rice flour

1 Litre of warm water 

1.      ‘First you have to get your wok very hot’ – Ken Hom.

2.      Add the pork and the chicken to the wok. Add enough water to cover them and boil. (Occasionally removing any scum).

3.      Add the mushrooms, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and dried shrimp, and simmer for 60 minutes.

4.      Add all the other garnishes.

5.      Make the batter by gently adding the warm water to the rice flour.

6.      Remove all the ingredients from the pot and set aside leaving just the broth. Season with salt to taste.

7.      Heat the broth to a high heat. Oil the rim of the wok and then gently add the batter and cook until it forms a sheet.

8.      Scrape the cooked batter in to the broth and add back all the reserved ingredients. Serve immediately.

In The Curse of Gluttony, our wine sommelier recommends plum wine as the best accompaniment. Now if you have an abundance of plums and are willing to wait at least nine months, you can make your own.

Or you can go to www.sushisushi.co.uk and buy their Nakata Aka Umeshu. It is made from ripe plums, sugar and alcohol. The plums are soaked in the alcohol, shochu or sake and sugar to create a sweet infusion.

In Hakka, cheers is typically said as ‘gan-bei’. It literally translates to ‘dry the cup’, meaning to drink up or finish your drink.