2 Chinese Conch Recipes 响螺食谱

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These 2 Chinese conch recipes use dried conch meat, a type of dried goods in Chinese cuisine.

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3_shell_%26_meat_neat_2150x3050_ATW_20111112_2355.jpg

Conch is a general term for shellfish that live in tropical shallow coastal areas. Google Translate translated conch as 海螺 (hai luo) which means sea snail. However,海螺 is more commonly used to refer to whelks in Chinese recipes. The more accurate name is 响螺 (xiang luo).

Conch is a popular ingredient in Caribbean cuisine. Not surprising since conch is readily available in the coastal waters off the Caribbean islands. These usually use fresh conch meat.

The Chinese uses mostly the dried version in cooking.

The Chinese like to preserve and dry seafood items like abalone, shrimp, fish, cuttlefish, sea cucumber and etc. to preserve them. Drying and preserving make these expensive seafood ingredients keep and last longer.

DABC OAK LAND South American Circle Shape Dried whelk / Conch Slices 南美螺片 1LB=453g

The neck of the conch 響螺頭 (xiang luo tou) is also highly valued. This can be found either dried or frozen.

Sun Dried Australia Sea Conch

In traditional Chinese medicine, conch is good for the spleen, kidney and liver. It is suitable for summer where heat can be overwhelming and oppressive. It can also be good for hangovers.

Recipe 1: Pork and Conch Soup

Good for tired eyes and poor appetite. Dried conch can be hard to digest, not suitable for the elderly or those with poor digestion. Just drink the soup.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg lean pork
  • 80g dried conch slices
  • 7 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 30g dried Chinese yam
  • 25g goji berries
  • 20g solomon's seal
  • 5 honey dates
  • A few slices ginger
  • 3 litres water
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Clean the dried conch pieces and soak in cold water till they soften. Approximately 4 hours or more. Cut into smaller pieces
  2. Parboil the pork, rinse and cut into smaller pieces
  3. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms till soften
  4. Rinse the dried Chinese yam, solomon's seal and honey dates
  5. Place all ingredients into the soup pot or slow cooker. Add the ginger and water
  6. Cook for about 2 to 4 hours
  7. Add salt to season and serve

This soup can also be cooked in a pressure cooker or instant pot.

After adding all the ingredients. close the pot tightly and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Release the pressurized air, season with salt and serve.

Recipe 2: Stir-fry Conch Recipe

Ingredients

  • 250g conch slices (soaked and soften)
  • 300g celery
  • 5g ginger flower
  • 5g carrot
  • 5g garlic, finely chopped
  • 10g 绍兴酒 (shaoxing) wine
  • 35g Cornstarch solution
  • 75g cooking oil
  • Sesame seed oil and ground white pepper

Directions

  1. Wash the celery and cut into diagonal slices
  2. Mix the cornstarch solution, sesame seed oil and ground white pepper in a bowl
  3. Heat 25g cooking oil in a pot, add hot water and 5g salt. Add the celery strips and cook till done. Drain the celery.
  4. Heat up the rest of the oil in a frying wok, add the conch slices and fry till partially cooked.
  5. Remove the conch slices from the oil, add the ginger flower and carrot and fry till fragrant. Return the celery, conch slices, wine, and cornstarch mixture.
  6. Fry till all ingredients are cooked and liquid has reduced slightly.
  7. Remove and serve

Lastly,

I would like to introduce this Mandarin video showing how a dried conch soup is made. It is very well made. The cooking demonstration starts at 2.55.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have any English subtitles. Let me try to translate a little.

Ingredients: cubed coconut flesh, lean pork ribs, dried conch slices, dried tangerine peel, ginger

Directions: Bring 1.5 litres of water to a boil. Add the pork ribs, conch slices and ginger and cook for 1.5 hours. Lower the heat. Add the coconut flesh and dried tangerine peel and cook for another 15 minutes.

Happy Souping, Phoebe