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Cuttlefish and Pork Bone Jelly
A pork-bone and cuttlefish broth, reduced until it sets into an amber jelly studded with cuttlefish shreds and peanuts, served cold with chilli and rice-wine dips. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 土龙冻, report 43.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 土龙冻_43.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 4 hours 30 minutesCook: 90 minutesTotal: 6 hoursServings: 2–3Difficulty: MediumRegion: FujianFlavour: Salty-savoury, seafood-rich
Why this works
This dish is a broth that has been cooked down until it can stand up on its own, and the report's numbers tell you exactly how far to take it: eight hundred millilitres of water reduced to three hundred, or thirty-seven and a half percent of its starting volume, until the liquid coats the back of a spoon and does not drip. That reduction is what gives the jelly its firmness, because there is no added gelatin — the pork bones provide it, and only a full ninety minutes of simmering, sixty for the bones alone and thirty more with the cuttlefish, dried razor clams and peanuts, extracts enough of it. The cuttlefish itself is first toasted in the oven for five minutes until faintly charred and fragrant, which deepens its flavour and removes fishiness, and the peanuts are soaked and skinned so they do not tint the jelly red. After straining, the jelly needs at least four hours in the fridge and must be served cold, at four degrees or below.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dried cuttlefish (muyu gan) | 1.1 oz | 30 g | Toast in the oven before use (see steps). |
| Pork bones (marrow or spine bones) | 7.1 oz | 200 g | Soak in cold water 30 minutes, then blanch 3 minutes. |
| Dried razor clams | 0.5 oz | 15 g | Soak in warm water 10 minutes; keep the soaking water and add it to the broth. |
| Raw peanuts | 0.7 oz | 20 g | Soak in warm water 20 minutes and remove the red skins. |
| Water, for the broth | 3⅓ cups | 800 ml | Reduce to 300 ml. |
| Salt | 1 tsp | 5 g | Added after cooking, off the heat. |
| MSG | ¼ tsp | 2 g | Optional; added after cooking (adaptation). |
| Cooking wine | 2 tsp | 10 ml | Added after cooking. |
| White pepper | Pinch | 1 g | Added after cooking. |
| Chilli sauce and rice wine, to serve | To taste | To taste | As dipping sauces, per the report. |
Equipment
- Large pot for the broth
- Fine sieve or cheesecloth
- Square silicone mould or small loaf pan
- Refrigerator (0–4 °C)
Steps
- Toast the cuttlefish. Bake the dried cuttlefish at 150 °C for 5 minutes until faintly charred and fragrant. Do not over-toast or it turns bitter.
- Prepare the bones and peanuts. Soak the pork bones in cold water for 30 minutes to draw out blood, blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes, skim, and rinse. Soak the peanuts in warm water for 20 minutes and remove their red skins. Soak the dried razor clams in warm water for 10 minutes and keep the soaking water.
- Simmer the bones. Put the bones and 800 ml water in a pot, bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 60 minutes until the broth turns milky.
- Add the seafood and reduce. Add the cuttlefish, razor clams (with their soaking water) and peanuts and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes more, until the liquid has reduced to about 300 ml and coats a spoon without dripping.
- Season off the heat. Turn off the heat and stir in the salt, MSG, cooking wine and white pepper, so the fresh flavours do not boil away.
- Strain, set and cut. Strain through cheesecloth, keeping the cuttlefish shreds and peanut pieces as garnish. Pour into a mould, chill at 0–4 °C for at least 4 hours until completely set, then unmould and cut into 2 cm × 2 cm pieces. Serve cold with chilli sauce and rice wine dips.
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Technique: reduce to 37.5%, then chill properly
The jelly sets because of reduction, not added gelatin, so the 800 ml to 300 ml target is not approximate — under-reduced broth stays liquid, over-reduced turns cloudy and muddy. And the chill must be a real fridge chill, 0–4 °C for at least four hours; a half-set jelly crumbles when cut, which is the most common failure with this dish.
Variations
- No mould: set the jelly in a small loaf pan or bowl and cut it from there; the shape does not matter (adaptation).
- Extra garnish: keep more cuttlefish shreds and peanuts in the jelly for texture, as the report suggests.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my jelly not setting?
Almost always under-reduction: the broth must reach about 300 ml and coat a spoon, and it must chill for at least 4 hours at 0–4 °C.
Can I add gelatin to help it set?
You could, but it changes the texture from the report's bone-gelatin jelly to a firmer, commercial one (adaptation).
Is this served hot or cold?
Cold, at 4 °C or below, with the dips on the side — the report treats the cold serve as a safety rule, not a preference.
Storage and freezing
Keep refrigerated at 0–4 °C and eat within 2 days. Serve cold. Do not freeze — the jelly weeps and crumbles on thawing.
Cuttlefish and Pork Bone Jelly — Recipe Card
Amber pork-bone and cuttlefish jelly, served cold with chilli and rice-wine dips.
Prep: 4 hours 30 minutesCook: 90 minutesTotal: 6 hoursServings: 2–3
Ingredients: 30 g dried cuttlefish; 200 g pork bones; 15 g dried razor clams; 20 g peanuts; 800 ml water (reduced to 300 ml); 5 g salt; 2 g MSG (optional); 10 ml cooking wine; 1 g white pepper; chilli sauce and rice wine to serve.
Steps: 1) Toast cuttlefish, prep bones and peanuts. 2) Simmer bones 60 minutes. 3) Add seafood, simmer 30 minutes, reduce to 300 ml. 4) Season, strain, chill 4 hours, cut and serve cold.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 土龙冻 (data/reports/43.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 (2–3, from one 500 ml restaurant portion) are an adaptation and are labelled as such. Original poster image: clouchef.com (土龙冻_43.jpeg).