Chili Oil Bean Curd Mixed Mushroom Fish Balls and Fried Tofu (紅油腐乳油炸豆腐菇魚蛋, Hung4 Jau4 Fu6 Jyu5 Jau4 Zaa3 Dau6 Fu6 Gu1 Jyu4 Daan6)

Fish balls are available in the frozen or refrigerated sections at your local Asian market. All that needs to be done is to thaw the fish balls, if frozen, and then cut them in half. The rest of the ingredients are available packaged or bottled (except for the vegetables), so this dish is pretty easy to make. The chili oil fermented bean curd is the spicy version of fermented bean curd, and the amount can be increased or decreased depending upon personal preference. Plain fermented bean curd can be substituted if spiciness is not desired in the dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Mixed mushroom fish balls (菇魚蛋, gu1 jyu4 daan6), cut in half
1 lb.	500 g.	Long beans (豆角, dau6 gok3), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
8 oz.	227 g.	One package fried tofu (油炸豆腐, jau4 zaa3 dau6 fu6)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) 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

4 cakes	4 cakes	Laoganma brand Chili Oil Bean Curd (紅油腐乳, hung4 jau4 fu6 jyu5) 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)
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

 

Laoganma Brand Chili Oil Bean Curd
(紅油腐乳, hung4 jau4 fu6 jyu5)

Preparation Instructions

1. If using frozen mixed mushroom fish balls, thaw in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Take the fish balls out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking and cut in half. Any fish ball can be used if mixed mushroom fish balls are not available.
2. Wash and cut the long beans into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
3. Open the fried tofu package and discard any liquid.
4. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
5. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Laoganma brand Chili Oil Bean Curd or equivalent, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. The amount of fermented bean curd can be increased or decreased depending upon personal preference. 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 before adding oil. Add the fish balls pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the fish balls in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the fish balls to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the fried tofu. Stir fry the fried tofu and then transfer them to the bowl with the fish balls.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the long beans. Stir fry the long beans 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 and the contents of the bowl with the fish balls back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
4. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some liquid (stock or water) 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.