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Clear-Broth Butterfly Swallows (Shandong Style)
Chicken breast pounded to a smooth paste, blended with egg white and clear stock, then dripped through a colander into butterfly-wing shapes and poached in clear broth — Shandong's most delicate banquet soup. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 清汤蝴蝶燕鲁菜, report 99.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 清汤蝴蝶燕鲁菜_99.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 15 minutesTotal: 30 minutesServings: 2Difficulty: AdvancedRegion: ShandongFlavour: Clear, savoury, low-fat
Why this works
Butterfly swallows are a test of paste, not of knife work: the chicken must be pounded until it has no grain at all, because any lump will clog the colander or sink as a dumpling instead of a wing. Egg white must be completely yolk-free, or the wings turn yellow and lose their translucent pallor. The paste is built in stages — stock added in three pours, stirred in one direction until it turns tacky and elastic — so it holds its shape in the broth instead of dissolving. The colander, with holes about three millimetres, is held vertical and the paste spread thin and fast, so it falls in wing shapes rather than blobs; six to eight wings make a serving. The broth itself must be clear, fat-free and residue-free, and kept at a bare simmer, because a rolling boil shatters the wings and clouds the soup they float in.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast, sinew removed | 3.5 oz | 100 g | Pounded to a paste; yield about 85% after pounding. |
| Egg white, yolk-free | About 3½ tbsp | 50 ml, about 1.5 egg whites | Must contain no yolk at all. |
| Clear stock | 1¼ cups | 300 ml | For the broth; plus 50 ml worked into the paste. |
| Ham, minced, for garnish | 0.2 oz | 5 g | A pinch only, for decoration. |
| Salt | ¼ tsp | 2 g | Weighed precisely, per the report. |
| MSG | Pinch | 1 g | Or chicken powder — optional (adaptation). |
| Cooking wine | 1 tsp | 5 ml | To remove any gaminess. |
| Corn starch | 1 tsp | 5 g | To bind the paste. |
| Scallion and ginger | 0.35 oz | 10 g | For seasoning the broth. |
| Coriander, to garnish | To taste | To taste | — |
Equipment
- Large colander or strainer with holes about 3 mm
- Small scraper or spatula
- Meat mallet or cleaver back for pounding
- Pot for the clear broth
Steps
- Pound and build the paste. Remove all sinew from the chicken breast and pound with a knife back or cleaver (or a food processor, adaptation) until completely smooth with no grain. Beat the egg white, mix into the paste, then add 50 ml stock in three pours, stirring in one direction until tacky and elastic. Season with salt, MSG, cooking wine and starch and mix evenly.
- Shape the wings. Hold a large colander vertically over a tray. Spread the paste thinly and evenly across it with a small scraper, moving lightly and quickly, so the paste drips through the holes in butterfly-wing shapes. Aim for 6–8 wings per serving, thin as a butterfly's wing and even in thickness.
- Poach gently. Bring the clear stock to a boil with scallion and ginger, season with salt, then turn to low heat so it barely simmers — never a rolling boil. Slip the wings in gently and poach until they float and turn translucent, about 2–3 minutes. The chicken centre must reach at least 75 °C / 167 °F.
- Serve in clear broth. Lift the wings into a bowl, ladle over the hot clear stock, and scatter the minced ham and coriander on top. Serve at once.
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Technique: paste with no grain, broth with no boil
Two things ruin this soup, and both are invisible until serving: grain in the paste, which makes wings that sink or tear, and a boiling broth, which breaks the wings and clouds the stock. Pound longer than feels necessary, and test the paste by spreading a little through the colander before committing the batch — if it clumps, pound more. Keep the broth at the barest tremble while poaching; if it starts to roll, lift the pot off the heat for a few seconds rather than letting it boil.
Variations
- Food-processor paste: pulse the breast with the egg white until smooth, then work in the stock by hand (adaptation).
- Simpler shape: quenelle the paste with two spoons instead of colander-shaping, for a rustic version (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
Why must the egg white be yolk-free?
Any yolk tints the wings yellow and changes their texture; the dish's beauty is its pale translucency.
My wings dissolved — why?
Usually the paste was not stirred until tacky, or the broth was boiling. Build elasticity first, poach gently second.
Can I make the paste ahead?
Yes, refrigerate it up to a day and shape just before poaching (adaptation).
Storage and freezing
Best eaten fresh from the pot; the wings soften on standing. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat gently without boiling. Do not freeze.
Clear-Broth Butterfly Swallows (Shandong Style) — Recipe Card
Delicate chicken and egg-white wings poached in clear broth.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 15 minutesTotal: 30 minutesServings: 2
Ingredients: 100 g chicken breast; 50 ml egg white (yolk-free); 300 ml clear stock + 50 ml for the paste; 5 g ham; 2 g salt; 1 g MSG (optional); 5 ml cooking wine; 5 g starch; 10 g scallion and ginger; coriander to garnish.
Steps: 1) Pound chicken to a grain-free paste; work in egg white and stock in 3 pours. 2) Spread through a 3 mm colander into wings. 3) Poach in barely simmering stock 2–3 minutes. 4) Serve in hot stock with ham and coriander.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 清汤蝴蝶燕鲁菜 (data/reports/99.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. The food-processor and quenelle shortcuts and the MSG-optional note are adaptations and are labelled as such. Original poster image: clouchef.com (清汤蝴蝶燕鲁菜_99.jpeg).