Rock Sugar Braised Turtle
Rock Sugar Braised Turtle is a traditional Ningbo dish. Slowly simmered with rock sugar, it has a glossy red color, soft texture, sweet and savory flavor, rich in collagen, and nourishing.
Ingredients
11 items- Softshell turtle 1 (about 500g)
- Rock sugar 100g
- Shaoxing wine 2 tbsp
- Soy sauce 2 tbsp
- Ginger 5 slices
- Scallions 2
- Garlic 3 cloves
- Star anise 2 pieces
- Cinnamon stick 1 small piece
- Salt to taste
- Cooking oil 2 tbsp
Nutrition
Steps （9 steps）
Blanch the turtle pieces in boiling water for 30 seconds, then peel off the outer skin. Cut open the belly, remove innards, cut off claws, and cut into 3-4 cm chunks. Rinse clean.
Place turtle pieces in cold water with 2 ginger slices, scallion sections, and 1 tsp wine. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, cook for 2 minutes, then drain and rinse.
Slice ginger, cut scallions, smash garlic. Crush rock sugar into small pieces. Prepare star anise and cinnamon.
Heat pan with 1 tbsp oil, add crushed rock sugar. Stir over low heat until sugar melts and turns deep amber. Quickly pour in half a cup of hot water, stir to make caramel water. Set aside.
Add 1 tbsp oil to pan over medium heat. Sauté ginger, scallions, garlic, star anise, and cinnamon until fragrant.
Add turtle pieces, increase to high heat, stir-fry for 2 minutes until lightly browned. Splash in Shaoxing wine and add soy sauce, stir to color evenly.
Pour in caramel water and enough boiling water to barely cover the turtle. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes until the meat is tender (easily pierced with chopsticks).
Remove lid, pick out ginger, scallions, star anise, and cinnamon. Increase heat to high to reduce the sauce, stirring constantly, until sauce thickly coats the turtle pieces. Season with salt.
Transfer the turtle to a deep plate, pour the remaining sauce over, and garnish with chopped scallions or diced ham. Serve.
Tips
Remove all outer skin to reduce fishiness; use low heat for caramelizing sugar to avoid bitterness; keep stirring during reduction to prevent sticking; adjust rock sugar amount to taste.
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