Lamb Noodle Soup
Henan-style lamb soup noodles with sesame paste, tofu skin and a warming, savoury broth.
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Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
Dried abalone, sea cucumber and fish maw, rehydrated over two days, then sealed in a jar with a clear chicken and ham broth and steamed for three hours. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 佛跳墙, report 41.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 佛跳墙_41.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 2 daysCook: 6 hoursTotal: 2 days 6 hoursServings: 1–2 as a soup courseDifficulty: Very hardRegion: FujianFlavour: Rich, savoury, wine-fragrant
Why this works
This is the most demanding dish in this collection, and the report does not pretend otherwise: the dried seafood needs up to forty-eight hours of soaking, changing and simmering before it is even ready to cook, and the broth needs three hours of gentle simmering plus three more hours of sealed steaming. The reason for that labour is texture, not luxury for its own sake — properly rehydrated abalone is tender rather than leathery, sea cucumber is springy rather than slimy, and fish maw gives the broth its body without any thickener. The jar matters too: sealing it with lotus leaf and a tight lid keeps the wine aroma inside, and the report requires the wine to be at least twelve percent of the total liquid, or the fragrance that defines the dish never develops. For most home cooks this is a project for a celebration, not a weeknight, and buying pre-rehydrated seafood is a sensible shortcut that changes the timeline without changing the final steaming.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dried abalone | 0.5 oz | 15 g | Rehydrate per steps (24 hours). Pre-rehydrated abalone is a major shortcut (adaptation). |
| Dried sea cucumber | 0.35 oz | 10 g | Rehydrate per steps (48 hours). Pre-rehydrated sea cucumber is a shortcut (adaptation). |
| Dried fish maw | 0.4 oz | 12 g | Rehydrate per steps (18 hours). |
| Boneless chicken (Qingyuan chicken in the report) | 2.8 oz | 80 g | Any good stewing chicken, boned, works (adaptation). |
| Pork trotter, in pieces | 1.8 oz | 50 g | For body in the broth. |
| Jinhua ham, sliced | 0.7 oz | 20 g | — |
| Shaoxing wine | 3 tbsp + 1 tsp | 50 ml | At least 12% of the total liquid, per the report. |
| Homemade stock | ⅔ cup + 2 tbsp | 200 ml | Clear chicken and ham stock, per the report. |
| Ginger slices | To taste | To taste | For the broth; quantity not stated in the report (adaptation, labelled here). |
| Dried lotus leaf | 1 leaf | 1 leaf | For sealing the jar. |
| Heatproof ceramic jar or bowl with a tight lid | 1 | 1 | For the sealed steaming stage. |
Equipment
- Large bowls for soaking
- Pot for simmering sea cucumber
- Ceramic jar or heatproof bowl with a tight lid, plus cotton string for tying the lotus-leaf seal
- Steamer or large pot for water-bath steaming at about 95 °C
Steps
- Rehydrate the abalone (24 hours). Soak in cold water for 12 hours, then in 60 °C warm water for 12 hours. Remove the innards and scrub the skirt clean.
- Rehydrate the sea cucumber (48 hours). Soak in pure water for 24 hours, remove the sand mouth, cut the inner tendons, simmer for 30 minutes, cool naturally, and repeat the simmer-and-cool cycle twice.
- Rehydrate the fish maw (18 hours). Soak in cold water for 6 hours, steam for 10 minutes, then soak in ice water for 12 hours.
- Make the clear broth (3 hours). Blanch the chicken and pork trotter, then simmer with the ham, ginger and stock over low heat for 3 hours. Strain to a clear broth.
- Assemble and seal. Place the rehydrated abalone, sea cucumber and fish maw in the ceramic jar, pour over the clear broth to cover, add the Shaoxing wine, seal with lotus leaf tied crosswise with cotton string, add cling film if needed, and press the lid tight.
- Steam sealed (3 hours). Steam in a water bath at about 95 °C for 3 hours. Do not let the water boil hard or the seafood will fall apart; do not underheat it or the gelatin will not release.
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Technique: rehydration is the cooking
The report's expansion ratios — abalone 1:5, sea cucumber 1:8, fish maw 1:4 — are the quality check: under-soaked seafood stays hard, over-soaked turns to mush, and no amount of final steaming rescues either. Keep the final steam at 95 °C, plus or minus two degrees, and keep the jar sealed, or the wine aroma that defines the dish escapes with the steam.
Variations
- Pre-rehydrated shortcut: buy ready-soaked abalone, sea cucumber and fish maw and skip to the broth and steaming stages; the timeline falls from days to about six hours (adaptation).
- Smaller jar: halve everything for a single-serving jar, keeping the wine at 12% of the liquid (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
Can I make this in a day?
Only with pre-rehydrated seafood. From dried ingredients the report's timeline is two days, and rushing the soak ruins the texture.
Why seal the jar?
To trap the wine aroma and steam the seafood gently in its own broth; a loose lid loses half the fragrance, per the report.
Is this a main course?
Traditionally it is a celebratory soup course, served in small portions, not a family main dish.
Storage and freezing
Best eaten fresh from the jar. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated in the sealed jar; reheat by steaming until steaming hot throughout. Do not freeze — rehydrated seafood turns mushy.
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall — Recipe Card
Rehydrated abalone, sea cucumber and fish maw steamed sealed in a wine-fragrant clear broth.
Prep: 2 daysCook: 6 hoursTotal: 2 days 6 hoursServings: 1–2 as a soup course
Ingredients: 15 g dried abalone; 10 g dried sea cucumber; 12 g dried fish maw; 80 g boneless chicken; 50 g pork trotter; 20 g ham; 50 ml Shaoxing wine; 200 ml stock; ginger slices (quantity not stated in report); 1 lotus leaf; 1 ceramic jar.
Steps: 1) Rehydrate seafood (24 h / 48 h / 18 h). 2) Simmer clear broth 3 hours, strain. 3) Assemble in jar, add wine, seal. 4) Steam at 95 °C for 3 hours.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 佛跳墙 (data/reports/41.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. Home servings (1–2 as a soup course, from one 300 ml restaurant portion) and the pre-rehydrated seafood shortcuts are adaptations and are labelled as such. Original poster image: clouchef.com (佛跳墙_41.jpeg).