China · Chinese
Sunflower-shaped dish with dried scallop
A Kong dish in which dried scallop and several vegetables are arranged into a sunflower, with a contrasting centre and petal leaves, steamed and sauced; the point is the shape rather than heavy seasoning. This home version simplifies the traditional seafood-and-vegetable combination. Public reference · home adaptation, not a historical original.
Public reference · Home adaptation Sunflower-shaped dish with dried scallop is one of the Kong dishes listed in Jining’s culture and tourism and municipal materials. It borrows the sunflower for imagery of facing the sun and continuing growth, while the scallop supplies savouriness. Kong cooking is attentive to wholeness and auspicious wording in plating, with names built from flowers, longevity, duck and fish — the same current as the family motto about thorough cooking and fine cutting, where the arrangement is part of the dish. This entry uses only the name and its imagery, and does not carry over health or efficacy claims from those materials. Here the scallop forms the flower’s centre, carrot and peas make the petals and shiitake the calyx, simplifying the traditional arrangement. The scallop must be soaked in advance and torn into strands; quantities, steaming time and glaze are editorial for 4 and untested. Sedimented scallop soaking liquid can replace part of the water in the sauce for more flavour. Contains mollusc (scallop) and poultry; this is a savoury dish. Scallop is a mollusc — avoid if allergic. 济宁市政府：孔府菜（2025） — Documents the context and representative dishes of Kong cuisine, including the dish name sunflower-shaped dish with dried scallop, establishing that it belongs to the Kong repertoire. https://www.jining.gov.cn/art/2025/4/7/art_65758_2898313.html 济宁市文旅局：孔府菜烹饪技艺（2020） — Kong banquet savouriness from stock and the emphasis on wholeness and auspicious naming, supporting the use of chicken stock and the sunflower arrangement here. https://whlyj.jining.gov.cn/art/2020/4/29/art_69979_2488143.html AI-generated illustration; not kitchen-tested.
Ingredients
- dried scallop, soaked and shredded40 g
- carrot, sliced and blanched80 g
- peas, blanched60 g
- shiitake, soaked and sliced60 g
- snow peas, stringed and blanched60 g
- soaked winter bamboo shoot, sliced and blanched60 g
- broccoli, in small florets, blanched100 g
- chicken breast, sliced80 g
- unsalted chicken stock200 ml
- chicken fat10 g
- cornstarch5 g
- fine salt2 g
Directions
- 1
Soak the dried scallop in warm water at least 3 hours until completely soft, tear into fine strands and keep the soaking liquid, settled.
- 2
Blanch the vegetables separately: carrot 30 seconds, peas and snow peas 40 seconds, broccoli 45 seconds, shiitake and bamboo shoot 1 minute. Drain and keep them crisp.
- 3
Slice the chicken thinly, toss with a little salt and blanch about 1 minute until just cooked and white, then drain.
- 4
Take a shallow round plate. Ring the outside of a central circle with small broccoli florets as a base, then stand shiitake slices at an angle around the centre as the flower’s calyx.
- 5
Pile the shredded scallop in the exact centre as the flower’s heart. Alternate carrot slices and peas outward into two rings of petals, filling the outer edge with snow peas and bamboo shoot, pressing each piece flat without heavy overlap.
- 6
Put the whole plate into a steamer over high heat, then turn to medium and steam about 6 minutes until everything is hot through; longer and the vegetables will collapse.
- 7
In a separate pan bring the chicken stock and scallop soaking liquid to a boil with salt, thicken with a cornstarch slurry to a clear thin glaze and swirl in the chicken fat.
- 8
Pour the glaze slowly around the edge of the plate so the flower shape is not disturbed, and serve at once.
Source: WorldBite · public-reference adaptation · Source-attributed editorial adaptation; AI illustration; not an authenticated original recipe.