Dried Tokay Gecko (Ge Jie)
エイリアンの干物！？広東スープに潜む「呼吸器を救うトカゲ」
Description
Large 'Tokay Geckos' living in SE Asia/Southern China, stretched in a cross shape on bamboo sticks and sun-dried. An ultra-maniac dry good with the most terrifying visual impact of all ingredients. Medically considered a silver bullet to 'replenish lungs/kidneys and cure asthma/respiratory diseases', braised in Cantonese medicinal soups.
Classification: Ultra Hardcore, Ingredient, Dry Goods, Ge Jie, Gecko, Tokay Gecko, Medicinal, Nourishing, Guangdong Cuisine
Shops selling Dried Tokay Gecko (Ge Jie)
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The How to use section below is a general reference, not instructions from the listed shops.
How to use
Ingredients
- Tokay Gecko(Dried)
Instructions
- [Typical Uses]
- [Ge Jie Dun Zhe Gu (Gecko & Francolin Medicinal Soup)]: Cut off the head, feet, and tail of Ge Jie, simmer for hours in a claypot with Francolin (Zhe Gu = pheasant family bird), lean pork, Chen Pi, and ginger. The ultimate medicinal soup Cantonese moms give to those with chronic coughs.
- Soak in Sorghum liquor to make 'Ge Jie Jiu' (Tonic wine).
Learn more Substitutes, pairings, tips
Key spices
Gecko itself isn't eaten. Soups gains slight earthiness and a unique deep depth like a wilder chicken broth
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Irreplaceable. Push comes to shove, seahorse (Hai Ma) for the same tonic purpose)
Pairing
Francolin (Zhe Gu bird) / Lean Pork / Chen Pi (Dried tangerine peel) / Ginger
Trivia
Chinese belief that 'eating this stops coughs' is absolute. Currently, wild Tokay geckos are endangered due to overhunting and designated Class 2 protected animals in China, so market ones are extremely expensive farmed products.
Eating tips & etiquette
If you see dried lizards stretched on crosses in pairs (male/female) outside sketchy Chinatown herbal pharmacies, this is it. ALWAYS cut off the head (esp. eyes) and toes before cooking (said to be slightly toxic).
Allergen
None