Ingredients
1 water snake (about 1 kg / 2.2 lbs), 50 g each of crab meat, crab roe, and egg whites, 360 g (about 12.7 oz) shrimp paste, and an appropriate amount of superior broth.
Seasonings
600 g (about 1 1/3 lbs) lard (about 60 g will be absorbed), 6 g each sesame oil and ginger, 10 g each cooking wine, cornstarch, wet water chestnut starch, salt, and scallions.
Instructions
1. Remove the head from the water snake, then use a mixture of 70% boiling water and 30% cold water to remove the scales. Use a small knife to make two cuts along the snake's back and one cut along the belly, slicing through to the tail. Remove the internal organs and any blood residue, then immerse the snake in a pot of boiling water for about 20 minutes before taking it out.
2. Tear the snake meat into two strips by hand, then cut into 24 pieces, each 3 cm long. Add some lard, cooking wine, scallions, ginger, and broth, then steam in a bamboo steamer for about 15 minutes. Blanch the crab roe in boiling water until cooked through.
3. Lightly dust the steamed snake fillets with cornstarch, then spread about 15 g of shrimp paste on each piece. Place a wok over medium-high heat, pour in an appropriate amount of lard, and immediately remove the fillets.
4. Heat the wok, add cooking wine and broth, then add crab meat and salt, stir-fry briefly, thicken with wet water chestnut starch, then pour in egg whites and crab roe, add a drizzle of finishing oil, stir-fry a few times, and finally drizzle sesame oil over the snake fillet before serving.