Shark's Fin Stuffed Papaya

Unusual Ingredients

Shark's Fin Stuffed Papaya
Ingredients:
1 1/4 pound shark’s fin, cooked and diced
3 slices fresh ginger, peeled
1 scallion, knotted
3 Tablespoons skinless chicken thigh meat, diced
3 Tablespoons skinless duck breast, diced
1½ to 2 pounds of papaya, keeping stem end
1 large dried Chinese mushrooms, stem discarded
2 cups chicken broth, divided
cheese cloth and three toothpicks

Preparation:
1. Prepare shark’s fin, soaked in cold water over night, then in morning, drain and discard water, rinse it with fresh water, and divide shark’s fin and tie it in two pieces of cheese cloth.
2. Cut one-inch off the top of the papaya, save it, discard its seeds, and rinse again with cold water. Wrap shark’s fin pieces in two pieces of cheese cloth, then put them and half the broth, the ginger and scallion knot, and place the papaya stem end up, in a Chinese soup bowl holding it upright.
3. Put this bowl in a deep pot with two cups of cold water around it, cover the pot and bring its water to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for one hour; then discard ginger and scallion, discard the water, and open the shark’s fin bundles into the papaya.
4. In that heat-proof bowl, add one cup of water there or on the bottom of the pot, add rest of the broth into the papaya with chicken, duck, and mushroom pieces into and around it and cover the papaya with toothpicks, then cover the pot and bring it to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for half an hour, then take papaya out carefully, remove and discard top and toothpicks.
5. Cut papaya into one-inch pieces, mix it with the shark’s fin, duck, chicken, and mushroom pieces and put them into individual-pre-heated soup bowls, and serve.

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