Cheong mang foo kwai

Ingredients
750g pumpkin (slice off a small portion of the top, scoop out the seeds, then wash clean)

Filling
Minced:
100g chicken meat
100g prawns
75g sotong paste
75g waterchestnuts, chopped fine
2 tbsp chopped spring onions
2 tbsp Chinese yin-sai

Seasoning:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder (ng heong fun)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornflour

Vegetable:
12 pieces black mush-rooms (soak, then bring to boil together with 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar, pinch of salt, dash of pepper and 1 tsp sesame oil)
50g gingko nuts (peh koay) (shell, remove skin then boil till soft)
10 quail eggs, boil and remove shells
10g fatt choy (soak)

Garnishings:
Carrots (shape into tortoise head, legs and tail)
Broccoli (scald in boiling water, with 1 tsp soda bicarbonate added in)

Gravy:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
A dash of ajinomoto
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
tsp pepper
1 tsp Maggie chicken stock granules
1 tsp sesame oil

Thickening:
Mixed together:
1 tsp wheat starch
2 tsp water
2 tbsp cooking oil

Chopped fine:
2 pips garlic
2 slices young ginger
1 tbsp Shao Xing cooking wine
1/2 bowl of water or soup stock

Method
1. Mix filling ingredients with the seasoning and chopped spring onions and yin-sai. Stuff this mixture into the hollow part of the pumpkin. Steam for 20-25 minutes or till cooked.

2. Remove pumpkin to a big serving dish. Decorate pumpkin.
Heat a wok with oil and saute chopped ginger and garlic.

3. When fragrant, add in the cooking wine, then water.

4. Mix in the vegetable ingredients and stir well. Add in thickening and bring to a boil.

5. Pour ingredients surrounding the assembled tortoise. Garnish as desired.

6. To serve, slice through the pumpkin together with the filling.

Note: This dish is appropriate for the Chinese New Year, especially with the tortoise which is symbolic of long life. Thus here you have longevity together with fatt choy and the other ingredients around that will bring
wealth and prosperity throughout the year.