Fujian Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (Fo Tiao Qiang) — Imperial Banquet Soup

Day one: make the superior stock. Place the old hen, blanched pork bones, and Jinhua ham in a large pot with 2 litres of cold water. Bring slowly to a bare simmer, skimming all grey foam as it rises. Simmer uncovered for at least 3 hours. The stock is ready when it is deeply golden, lightly viscous, and carries the concentrated savour of all three animals — a single spoonful should taste complete.

Rehydrate all dried ingredients: soak dried scallops overnight in cold water; soak dried sea cucumber until fully supple and expanded (allow up to 24 hours, changing the water); soak fish maw until soft and pliable; soak dried shiitake until the caps yield without resistance. Each is done when it has returned fully to its natural volume and texture — no hard or papery centre.

Day two: pre-cook each main ingredient separately to its individual ideal state. Blanch the chicken pieces and pork tendons in boiling water, drain, then braise each in a portion of the superior stock with Shaoxing wine until just tender — the chicken until the flesh yields cleanly from the bone, the tendons until they are trembling and gelatinous but hold their shape. Lightly sear or blanch the taro until the exterior is sealed but the centre remains firm. Reserve all braising liquids and return them to the main stock.

This is the step on which the dish lives or dies. Layer all pre-cooked and prepared ingredients into one or more clay pots in strict order: the densest, longest-cooking items — pork tendons, taro, bamboo shoots — go on the bottom; sea cucumber, abalone, and chicken above them; ham slices, mushrooms, and dried scallops in the middle layer; fish maw and quail eggs on top. Each layer must be distinct. Pour over enough superior stock to cover all ingredients completely. Season with light soy sauce and salt. Seal the mouth of the clay pot tightly with lotus leaf, parchment, or the pot's own lid secured with dough, so no steam escapes.

Place the sealed pot in a large steamer or set it on a rack over simmering water in a covered wok. Steam over low, steady heat for 6 to 8 hours, maintaining a gentle, continuous simmer throughout — never a rolling boil, which would agitate and break the delicate ingredients. The pot is ready when it exhales a deep, unified fragrance the moment the seal is lifted: the individual aromas of shellfish, poultry, pork, and mushroom have merged into a single, irreducible whole.

Bring the sealed clay pot to the table. Lift the lid at table so each guest witnesses the release of steam. Ladle into individual bowls, ensuring each portion receives all ingredient groups. The full flavour complexity of the dish becomes apparent only on the third or fourth mouthful.