Heilongjiang Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber 黑龙江葱烧海参

Where it comes from

Xinhua says that in the century since Harbin opened as a port, the food cultures of Shandong (齐鲁), the Manchus and Russia have mixed there to form Habu cuisine (哈埠菜). It describes most of Harbin's Han residents as descendants of migrants from Shandong and Hebei, and names Northeastern local dishes, Shandong cooking and Beijing cooking as the core of the city's food. Xinhua's list of the 'ten classic Habu dishes' starts with scallion-braised sea cucumber and also includes guobaorou (锅包肉) and kaluga sturgeon braised with potatoes (鳇鱼烧土豆).

Chinese Wikipedia counts the dish as a classic of both Shandong and Liaoning cooking. Chefs from Fushan (福山) in Shandong refined it into one of the signature dishes of the Fengzeyuan restaurant (丰泽园) in Beijing.

How it is made

Rehydrated sea cucumber and large scallion are the two main ingredients. The Shandong provincial government calls soaking the sea cucumber the key step. The scallion removes gamey and fishy off-flavours, while a thick sauce gives the sea cucumber its flavour inside and a deep colour outside.

Flavour and texture

The sea cucumber tastes clean and fresh, the scallion pieces are fragrant, and the finished dish is soft and smooth with a strong aroma. In Harbin, the Heilongjiang culture and tourism department lists it among the river-fish and seafood dishes at the Jinchun Restaurant (金春大酒店) in Daowai District (道外区), next to Northeastern home-style dishes such as guobaorou.