Tomatoes and curry are common ingredients in dishes
available at Chinese-American restaurants in the USA. Some of my favorite
recipes are: Curry
Tomato Beef Tripe (咖哩番茄牛柏葉, Gaa3 Lei1
Faan1 Ke4 Ngau4 Paak3 Jip6),
Spicy
Tomato Beef Curry (咖哩粉番茄牛肉, Gaa3 Lei1
Fan2 Faan1 Ke4 Ngau4 Juk6),
and the curried version of Tomato
Beef Chow Mein (番茄牛肉炒麵, Faan1 Ke4
Ngau4 Juk6 Caau2 Min6). The
previous tomato-curry recipes are beef based, so this recipe uses a chicken and
fish ball combination to show that other proteins can be used to make this type
of dish. Fish balls can be purchased at your local Asian market. The meat and
fish combination also is a classic taste duo used in Chinese dishes. The
curried based sauce can also be varied to be made sweet and sour, if desired,
but just curry powder is used for this dish.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 lb.
|
500 g.
|
Mixed mushroom
fish balls (菇魚蛋, gu1 jyu4 daan6), cut in half
|
|
|
|
¾ lb.
|
375 g.
|
Chicken thigh (鷄髀, gai1 bei2) or breast meat (雞胸肉, gai1 hung1 juk6), cut into 1-inch (2.5
cm.) pieces
|
1 tsp.
|
5 ml.
|
Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
|
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
|
1 Tbs.
|
15 ml.
|
Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
|
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)
|
|
|
|
1 lb.
|
500 g.
|
Snow peas (荷蘭豆, ho4 laan4
dau6)
|
10
|
10
|
Dried Shiitake
mushrooms (冬菇, dung1
gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
|
2-3
|
2-3
|
Tomatoes (番茄, faan1 ke4), cut into
wedges
|
½ cup
|
125 ml.
|
Fresh basil
leaves (紫蘇, zi2 sou1)
|
3 stalks
|
3 stalks
|
Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
|
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
2 Tbs.
|
30 ml.
|
Curry powder (咖哩粉, gaa3
lei1 fan2)
|
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)
|
½ Tbs.
|
7.5 ml.
|
Sesame oil (麻油, maa4
jau4)
|
|
|
|
2 tsp.
|
10 ml.
|
Corn starch (粟粉, suk1
fan2)
|
4 tsp.
|
20 ml.
|
Water
|
Equipment
|
|
Garlic press
|
14 in.
|
35.5 cm.
|
Wok or pan
|
Preparation Instructions
- If using frozen mixed mushroom fish balls, thaw the fish balls in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Take the fish balls out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking. Cut the fish balls in half. If mixed mushroom fish balls are not available, any fish ball can be substituted.
- Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any bones, excess fat, and skin. Cut the chicken into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. Wet with water and add baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
- Marinate the chicken in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the chicken overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
- 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, and cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
- Wash and remove the string from the snow peas by grasping each snow pea in one hand and pulling the tip the length of the snow pea with the other.
- Wash and cut the tomatoes into wedges.
- Wash and remove the leaves from the fresh basil stalks.
- Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
- Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal.
- Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the curry powder, 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
- Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the chicken pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the chicken in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.
- Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer them to the bowl with the chicken.
- Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the mixed mushroom fish balls. Stir fry the fish balls and then transfer them to the bowl with the chicken.
- Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the snow peas. Stir fry the snow peas to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture to the wok, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become fragrant. Add the green onions, tomatoes, basil leaves, and the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok, and gently stir fry all the ingredients together to keep the tomatoes’ shape intact.
- Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some of the mushroom rehydration liquid to the wok. 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.
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