Guilin Xiba Niang (Plaited Dish)

Ingrédients

• **Architecture (Wrapper) — Any hollowed out object:**
• Green peppers, bitter gourd ( Kampot pepper), eggplant, river snails, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, pumpkin flowers, pomelo, bamboo shoots, winter melon, taro, garlic, cherry tomatoes, bean sprouts, eggs, bell fungi.
• Principle: Everything can be 'Niang' (stuffed).
• **Stuffing (Filling) — mainly meat:**
• Minced pork (Basic style, 3 parts fat to 7 parts lean)
• Shrimp paste (Fork version version)
• Fish paste
• Mixed stuffing (Pork + Shrimp, Pork + Snail meat, etc.)

Étapes

1. ### Core Concept
2. So-called 'Niang' (stuffing/stuffed dish) means finding an edible hollow object as the container, stuffing the seasoned meat mixture inside, and then pan-frying or braising it until cooked.
3. Using two co-existed stuffed dishes as examples:
4. **Green Pepper Stuffed with Meat:** Cut the stem and seeds off the green pepper, hollow it out → Stuff with pork or shrimp paste → Pan-fry until mottled skin appears → Simmer in sauce.
5. **Snail Stuffed with Meat:** Blanch the snails and extract the meat → Chop snail meat and mix with minced pork → Stuff back into the snail shells → Braise with Perilla and Mint.
6. Switch to other hollowed-out ingredients, and repeat the same process, and you have a new dish. Bitter gourd stuffed with meat, eggplant stuffed with meat, tofu stuffed with meat... All the same.
7. The stuffing (filling) can also be varied:
8. **Minced Pork:** The most basic and universal choice, best with a 3:7 fat-to-lean ratio.
9. **Shrimp Paste:** Sweet and crunchy, commonly used in stuffed green peppers.
10. **Snail & Pork Mixed Filling:** The soul of the Snail Stuffed Dish, snail meat and pork at 1:1 ratio, with Perilla and Mint.
11. **Mixed Filling:** Pork + Shrimp mix, combining sweetness and savory oil flavor.
12. One container paired with one stuffing, swapping one gives you a different variety. The locals say 'Everything Can Be Stuffed,' and that is exactly the reason.
13. ### Bridge Pattern
14. Decouple the 'Wrapper' and the 'Filling' so they can change and combine freely:
15. ```text Abstract Layer (Abstract Wrapper): CylindricalContainer ├── Pepper Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Bitter Gourd Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Eggplant Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Snail Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Tofu Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Shiitake Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Pumpkin Flower Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Pomelo Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Bamboo Shoot Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Winter Melon Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Taro Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Garlic Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Tomato Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Bean Sprout Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer ├── Egg Stuffed extends CylindricalContainer └── ... Everything can be Stuffed Implementation Layer (Filling Implementation): MeatFilling ├── Pork Filling implements MeatFilling ├── Shrimp Paste Filling implements MeatFilling ├── Fish Filling implements MeatFilling └── Mixed Filling implements MeatFilling // Pork + Shrimp, Pork + Snail... ```
16. Change a wrapper and it's a new dish; change a filling and it's a variation.