Preserved Duck Egg Jellyfish Salad with Mustard Dressing (芥末粉醬皮蛋海蜇沙律, Gaai3 Mut6 Fan2 Zoeng3 Pei4 Daan6 Hoi2 Zit3 Saa1 Leot6)

Here’s a tasty salad I made for my family’s 2016 Thanksgiving dinner. The recipe is very similar to the salad I made in 2015: Shredded Tofu Jellyfish Salad (白豆腐絲海蜇沙律, Baak⁶ Dau⁶ Fu⁶ Si¹ Hoi² Zit³ Saa¹ Leot⁶). It’s actually quite simple to make, consisting mainly of opening packages and cutting the fresh ingredients. The mustard dressing really brought out the flavors in this salad. Unlike most salads, the dressing is made first and then the salad ingredients are added. The salad and dressing are actually made the day before serving, so this makes an ideal dish that can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator.

Preserved duck egg is a unique ingredient in this salad. Preserved duck egg can be purchased at your local Asian market. Wikipedia has a good article on preserved duck eggs (also called century eggs) if you’re interested in more details. Use an egg slicer to cu the egg into small pieces.

Instant jellyfish comes in a package ready to use (hence the “instant” name). If I translated the Chinese correctly, it’s “jellyfish noodles”. The traditional method to prepare jellyfish is to soak dried salted jellyfish to rehydrate it before cutting into strips (at least a two day effort with a couple of water changes to remove the salt). So you see why packaged instant jellyfish is preferable.

Shredded tofu is also packaged and looks like noodles. This recipe uses both the regular (white) and marinated (five-space), but you can use all of one type if desired. The tofu needs to be parboiled before using (follow the instructions on the package), but other than that, there’s no other cooking needed before assembling the salad. The rest of the fresh salad ingredients are either cut or come already cut.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

8 oz.	227 g.	One package Kimbo brand Shredded White Tofu (白豆腐絲, baak6 dau6 fu6 si1) or equivalent
8 oz.	227 g.	One package Kimbo brand Shredded Spice Tofu (五香豆腐絲, ng5 hoeng1 dau6 fu6 si1) or equivalent
10.58 oz.	300 g.	Two 5.29 oz. (150 g.) packages Asian Taste brand Instant Jellyfish (海蜇麵, hoi2 zit3 min6) or equivalent
7 oz.	200 g.	Two 3.5 oz. (100 g.) packages Daxing brand Pickled Radish (Shredded) (榨菜大王, zaa3 zoi3 daai6 wong4) or equivalent
12	12	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
2	2	Preserved Duck Eggs (皮蛋, pei4 daan6), cut with an egg slicer
½ cup	125 ml.	Carrot (紅蘿蔔, hung4 lo4 baak6), shredded into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) long strips
½ cup.	125 ml.	Fresh basil leaves (紫蘇, zi2 sou1)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
½ bunch	½ bunch	Cilantro (芫茜, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1+1 tsp.	5+5 ml.	White sesame seeds (芝麻, zi1 maa4), toasted; divided use
1+1 tsp.	5+5 ml.	Black sesame seeds (胡麻, zi1 maa4), toasted; divided use

Dressing Ingredients

1½ Tbs.	22.5 ml.	Coleman’s brand Mustard Powder (芥末粉, gaai3 mut6 fan2) or equivalent
1½ Tbs.	22.5 ml.	Kimlan brand Soy Paste (豆醬, dau6 zoeng3) or equivalent
1½ Tbs.	22.5 ml.	Balsamic vinegar (黑醋汁, hak1 cou3 zap1)
1½ Tbs.	22.5 ml.	Olive oil (橄欖油, gaam3 laam5 jau4)
		Juice from one lime (麻油, maa4 jau4)
		Salt and ground pepper to taste

Equipment

3 qt.	2.9 L.	Covered container or larger
		Vegetable peeler
		Small pan to toast the sesame seeds
		Small pot to parboil the shredded tofu
		Colander

Instructions (One Day Before Serving)

Coleman’s Brand Mustard Powder
(芥末粉, gaai3 mut6 fan2)

Kimlan Brand Soy Paste
(豆醬, dau6 zoeng3)






Kimbo Brand Shredded Spice Tofu
(五香豆腐絲, ng⁵ hoeng¹ dau⁶ fu⁶ si¹)






Asian Taste Brand Instant Jellyfish
(海蜇麵, hoi2 zit3 min6)





Daxing Brand Pickled Radish (Shredded)
(榨菜大王, zaa3 zoi3 daai6 wong4)

1. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. If you need to rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms quickly, use the method described here: Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).
2. Toast the white and black sesame seeds in a dry pan until the white sesame seeds just turn brown. Divide the sesame seeds in half and place into two separate small bowls. The first small bowl will be added to the assembled salad (later) and the second will be used to top the salad before serving the next day. The second bowl should be covered with plastic wrap once the sesame seeds cool.
3. Make the dressing first and place into the covered container in which the salad is to be stored overnight in the refrigerator: Mix together the Coleman’s brand Mustard Powder or equivalent, Kimlan brand Soy Paste or equivalent, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, juice from one lime, and salt and ground pepper to taste.
4. Open the packages of Kimbo brand Shredded White Tofu, or equivalent, and follow the instructions to parboil the tofu. Drain the shredded tofu in a colander and then place into the covered container with the dressing.
5. Open the packages of Kimbo brand Shredded Spice Tofu, or equivalent, and place into the container with the dressing.
6. Open the packages of Asian Taste brand Instant Jellyfish, or equivalent, and put the jellyfish into the container with the dressing.
7. Open the packages of Daxing brand Pickled Radish (Shredded), or equivalent, and place the radish into the covered container with the dressing.
8. Remove the shell from the preserved duck eggs and use an egg slicer to cut the eggs into cubes. First slice the egg lengthwise using the egg slicer, rotate the sliced eggs 90⁰, and slice again to produce cubes. Add the preserved duck eggs to the container with the dressing.
9. Wash the carrot and use a vegetable peeler to produce thin 1-inch (2.5 cm.) long strips. Only part of the carrot will be used in the salad. Add the carrot strips to the bowl with the dressing.
10. Wash and remove the leaves from the fresh basil stalks. Add the basil leaves to the bowl with the dressing.
11. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Add the green onions to the bowl with the dressing.
12. Wash and cut the cilantro into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Add the cilantro to the bowl with the dressing.
13. Add one bowl of the toasted sesame seeds to the bowl with the dressing and mix all the ingredients together. Cover the container and place into the refrigerator.

Instructions (Serving Day)

1. Take the salad out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving, remix the dressing and salad together, and place into serving plates. Top the salad with the remaining toasted sesame seeds.