China · Chinese

Luoyang mock sea cucumber (vermicelli)

A closing course of the Luoyang water banquet that uses no sea cucumber: cooked sweet-potato vermicelli is bound with minced pork, wood-ear and sweet-potato starch, shaped into dark batons, steamed and served under a sour-hot broth. Public reference · home adaptation, not a historical original.

80 minutes · 4 servings · Moderate

Luoyang mock sea cucumber (vermicelli)

Public reference · Home adaptation Luoyang mock sea cucumber is one of the four closing courses and a textbook case of cooking banquet-style from humble ingredients: ordinary sweet-potato vermicelli turned into something that looks and eats like sea cucumber. Public sources describe the finished dish as black, long and rounded, springy with a soft core, and sour-hot. **It is a good example of a Luoyang dish name not matching its actual ingredients** (the yan cai is another), which is why this page is written from the real ingredients. Published menus record the name only; this version follows public recipe sources and is not a one-to-one match to that menu. **This entry previously also cited a Zhihu column page (zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/492193137); in this pass Zhihu returned 403 to every non-browser client and the body could not be opened by either curl or web_fetch, so that source has been removed. The method here rests on the remaining openable sources listed above.****Name check and allergens**: verifiable public material states plainly that Luoyang 'haishen' contains no sea cucumber, is nicknamed 'fake sea cucumber', and is built from sweet-potato vermicelli or starch as a case of the Henan habit of cooking meat dishes from humble ingredients. This entry follows that and lists its ingredients: no seafood. **Important**: a little minced pork is included here to match the common banquet version, so this is not suitable for those avoiding meat; the same source also gives a meat-free version, noted here, and the reader can drop the pork and stock for a plant-based one, with quantities editorial for four. The two sources give different steaming times, 20 and 40 minutes; this version uses 30 and judges by set. Shaping is offered as knife-back and chopstick, piping bag, or hand squeezing, all workable at home; line the steamer with cabbage leaves or a cloth to stop sticking. Despite the name, this dish contains no sea cucumber and no seafood at all. It contains egg, soy (dark soy) and sesame; the dried shrimp is an optional shellfish ingredient. This version includes minced pork and stock, so it is not vegetarian; omit the pork, use water instead of stock and leave out the shrimp for a plant-based version. 大厨网：洛阳水席之假海参的详细做法 — The full method: 150 g vermicelli boiled and chopped, combined with minced wood-ear and aromatics, 100 g sweet-potato starch, 50 g minced pork (optional), salt, five-spice, dark soy, chicken bouillon and stock; shaped into batons on the back of a knife with a chopstick; steamed 20 minutes over medium heat; served in the banquet arranged on a plate and covered with hot broth. https://www.dachu.co/zh-hans/recipe/296309 京细菜谱：洛阳海参的做法 — Luoyang haishen is mock sea cucumber made from vermicelli and minced pork, named for its shape; 500 g vermicelli soaked, boiled to translucent and chopped, wood-ear chopped, mixed with minced pork, sweet-potato starch, egg, ginger juice, salt, wine and light soy, shaped into long pieces and steamed 40 minutes; a broth with laver, dried shrimp, salt, wine, vinegar and pepper is boiled and poured over. The tip notes sweet-potato vermicelli and starch give a better result. https://www.jxcaipu.com/recipe/1afh03hc8.html FDA: Food Allergies — Basis for declaring egg, soy and sesame allergens; the optional dried shrimp is a shellfish ingredient. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/food-allergies AI-generated illustration; not kitchen-tested.

Ingredients

  • dried sweet-potato vermicelli200 g
  • sweet-potato starch120 g
  • minced pork, omit for a plant-based version100 g
  • dried wood-ear mushroom, soaked and minced20 g
  • egg1 piece
  • ginger, minced10 g
  • scallion, chopped15 g
  • garlic, minced5 g
  • dark soy sauce for colour20 ml
  • five-spice powder2 g
  • salt4 g
  • stock, or water for a plant-based version800 ml
  • dried shrimp, optional5 g
  • vinegar25 ml
  • white pepper powder1 g
  • coriander, chopped15 g
  • sesame oil5 ml

Directions

  1. 1

    Boil the vermicelli until no white core remains, drain and chop finely. Soak the wood-ear and mince it, and mince the scallion, ginger and garlic.

  2. 2

    Combine the chopped vermicelli with the wood-ear and aromatics, then add the sweet-potato starch, minced pork, egg, dark soy, five-spice and salt, adding stock a little at a time until the mixture holds together while still being a flowing paste.

  3. 3

    Wet your hands, spread the paste on the back of a knife and draw batons out with a chopstick; a piping bag or squeezing between gloved hands also works. Lay the pieces on an oiled plate or steamer lined with cabbage leaves or a cloth so they do not stick.

  4. 4

    Steam over medium heat 30 minutes once the water boils, until a piece lifted with chopsticks no longer sags. Cool before arranging.

  5. 5

    Bring the stock to a boil, season with the dried shrimp, vinegar, salt and white pepper, then turn off the heat.

  6. 6

    Arrange the mock sea cucumber in a bowl, pour over the hot broth, scatter coriander and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve hot.

Source: WorldBite · public-reference adaptation · Source-attributed editorial adaptation; AI illustration; not an authenticated original recipe.