Chinese black mushrooms, soaked until soft and cut into shreds, equal in
amount to the scallions
Virginia Ham shreds, equal in amount, once again, to the scallions
STEP BY STEP:
Soak fins in cold water overnight. Wash fins in a colander, put in a large corning ware. Add 4 slices of ginger and water to cover the fins
Bring to a boil for 10 minutes, turn off heat, cover and wait until the
water is cold again. Wash in colander again. Soak in cold water again overnight
Remove innards. Rub entire surface with a thin layer of salt by hand.
Stuff with ginger and scallion and place in large pot
Fill pot with water until chicken is covered. Add sherry. Bring to a boil and simmer 6 hours
For making Virginia Ham Juice: Put 1 lb cut of Virginiah Ham in a sturdy pyrex dish or corning ware. Put dish on a round steel rack inside a large pot
Fill pot with water until it reaches the level of the dish. Cover and steam
for 1-1/2 hours. Add water periodically. Juice will come out into the dish. Keep this and throw away ham
For the soup: Save 3/4 large corning ware full of chicken soup. Boil soup, add fins, ham juice
Add sherry, soysauce, pepper, sugar, and shreds. Boil, then simmer 6 hours, stirring occasionally. At the end of 6 hours, add the cornstarch-water mixture. Stir and serve hot.
