Taiwanese Meat Stew (aka Rou Geng Tang)

Directions

• Prepare winter bamboo shoots for cooking by peeling off brown layers. Cut off bottoms and thinly slice outer layers until smooth. In a small pot, bring water to a boil and put bamboo in. Wait for it to reboil and then turn down to simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes. This will remove any toxins and bitterness from the raw bamboo.
• While bamboo is cooking, prepare vegetables. Cut the stem off the cabbage and then cut cabbage into 1/2 inch wide strips. Wash cabbage and drain. Peel carrots, cut off ends, and then julienne carrots into 2-3 inch matchsticks. Wash fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms and drain.
• On a cutting board, cut pork shoulder against the grain into 2 inch long and 1/2 wide strips. In a large bowl, mix pork strips with white fish paste until fish paste is evenly distributed on all pork strips.
• In a large 8-quart stockpot, put in 1 quart of water and bring to a boil. One-by-one drop fish-covered pork pieces into the water. Wait for the pieces to float up. Once many of the pieces float, using a long-handled strainer, remove them from the water onto a dish. Continue cooking pork until all pieces of pork are cooked and removed from the water.
• To make the soup, continue to keep the temperature high and add chicken stock to the pork flavored water in the pot. Once the soup is boiling, add the carrots, mushrooms, and cabbage. Stir until everything is well combined.
• Add black vinegar and soy sauce into the soup. Mix well and then add back the pork.
• In a separate small pot, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add 1/2 teaspoon of the bonito soup stock. Mix well and then pour the mixture into pork soup. Bring pork soup to a boil again and then turn temperature to simmer. Let simmer for 60 minutes.
• Add salt to desired taste. Create cornstarch slurry to thicken soup: Mix 4 tablespoons cornstarch and 4 tablespoons water. Turn pork soup cooking temperature back to high. While stirring pork soup, add the cornstarch slurry. Mix well and then serve in individual soup bowls.