Description
Japanese 'Ba Bao Cai' is a cheap home dish of cabbage, pork, and quail eggs. In authentic China, 'Eight Treasures' strictly means 'Premium Dried Seafood'. It is a top-tier banquet dish lavishly tossing sea cucumber, abalone, and shark fin.
Restaurants serving Chao Ba Bao (Authentic Eight Treasure Stir-fry)
Researching
We are researching restaurants that serve this dish.
On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Sea cucumber
- Abalone
- Shrimp
- Scallops
- Chicken
- Jinhua ham
- Bamboo shoots
- Chicken broth
- Oyster sauce
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe & Differences]
- (Ingredients) Cheap Japanese cabbage, fish cake, and quail eggs are banished. Authentic versions demand 'rehydrated dried sea cucumber', 'abalone', 'shark fin', 'dried scallops', 'Jinhua ham', 'winter bamboo shoots', 'shrimp', and 'chicken'.
- Meticulously chop everything to the exact same size, and parboil in premium chicken broth (Gao Tang) to infuse umami.
- Heat scallion oil (or chicken fat), bloom scallion and ginger.
- Toss in the premium ingredients, seasoning with soy, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine.
- To avoid masking the delicate flavors, apply a 'glass-like, translucent starch slurry (Bo Li Qian)' and finish with sesame oil.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Complex amino acid umami from premium seafood
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Japanese Ba Bao Cai packets (but ingredient tier is entirely diff)
Pairing
Premium Shaoxing Wine / White Rice
Trivia
[Trivia] 'Eight' is the luckiest number in China, meaning 'many treasure-like ingredients'. Japanese Ba Bao Cai is a localized evolution using cheap, available vegetables—essentially just a 'thickened veggie stir-fry'.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] The thick glaze holds 'hundreds of dollars worth of umami' bled from the sea cucumber and scallops. Enjoy the distinct crunchy and chewy textures, and finally pour the leftover glaze over rice.
Allergen
Shrimp, Chicken, Pork (Ham), Wheat (Soy sauce)