Lemon Black Bean Chili Sauce Oysters with Garlic Stems (檸黑豆辣椒蒜芯鮮蠔, Ning4 Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Syun3 Sam1 Sin1 Hou4)

Oysters are not usually used in stir fry dishes because they are hard to keep intact during the cooking process. If you gently stir fry oysters, really just browning them quickly over high heat, you can make this dish. Eating oysters with lemon is a great taste combination, so fresh lemon juice is used in the black bean chili sauce. Finally garlic stems add a nice crunch to the dish, as well a nice garlic flavor.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

16 oz.	454 g.	Two 8 oz. (227 g.) bottles fresh oysters (鮮蠔, sin1 hou4) – about 8 oysters
1 lb.	500 g.	Garlic stems (蒜芯, syun3 sam1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) lengths
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

		Oyster liquor (the liquid from the oysters)
		Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Lemon juice (from about ½ of a lemon)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce (黑豆辣椒油, hak1 dau6 laat6 ziu1 jau4) or equivalent
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
½ Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
1 Tbs.	30 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

Laoganma Brand
Black Bean Chili Sauce

1. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces, and set aside. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
2. Wash and cut the garlic stems into 2-inch (5 cm.) lengths.
3. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
4. Open the jars and place the fresh oysters into a small bowl. Reserve the liquid in the jars from the oysters (the oyster liquor) for later use.
5. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the lemon juice, Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce or equivalent, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and before adding oil. Add the oysters to the wok and gently brown the oysters. Set the oysters aside in a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then remove them to the bowl with the oysters.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the ginger and garlic. Quickly stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant before adding more oil and then the garlic stems. Stir fry the garlic stems to brown them. Add some of the mushroom rehydration liquid to facilitate heat transfer while browning the garlic stems. Add the contents of the bowl with the oysters back into the wok and stir fry all the ingredients together.
4. Add sauce ingredients and some of the oyster liquor to the wok, and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some of the Shiitake rehydration liquid. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.