Ingredients
250 g fresh prawns (about 1/2 lb), 200 g boneless fish fillet (about 7 oz), 100 g pork fat (about 3.5 oz), 50 g ham (about 1.75 oz), 25 g each of seaweed, tomato, and leafy greens (about 1 oz each), 15 g each of yellow egg cake, peas, and red chili pepper skin (about 1/2 oz each).
Seasonings
30 g Shaoxing wine, 3 g salt, 15 g ginger-scallion juice.
Instructions
1. Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails intact, and devein them thoroughly. Rinse clean, then split each shrimp from the back into a butterfly shape. Score a crosshatch pattern on the meat. Marinate with Shaoxing wine and salt. Finely mince the fish meat and pork fat together, then mix with salt, Shaoxing wine, ginger-scallion juice, clear broth, and egg whites to form a smooth filling. Spread this filling evenly over the cut surface of each shrimp.
2. Cut the ham, yellow egg cake, green vegetables, and seaweed into scale shapes, then use them along with peas to decorate the shrimp meat into a goldfish shape. Cut the tomato into lotus petal shapes and remove the pulp. Pile the remaining fish filling in the center of a plate into a small flat round shape, top it with a pea to form the lotus heart, insert the tomato petals into the fish paste to create a lotus flower shape, and steam both the goldfish shrimp and the lotus together over high heat until cooked. Remove, drain off the liquid, and neatly arrange the goldfish shrimp around the lotus.
3. Bring clear broth, salt, and Shaoxing wine to a boil in the pot, skim off any foam, thicken with a cornstarch slurry, drizzle with sesame oil, and pour over the lotus flowers and goldfish. This dish features a vivid presentation, beautiful color and form, and a tender, fresh flavor.