Black Pepper Sauce Sockeye Salmon (黑椒汁紅鱒鮭魚, Hak1 Ziu1 Zap1 Hung4 Zyun6 Gwai1 Jyu4)

Fresh sockeye salmon was available, so I paired it with Lee Kum Kee’s brand Black Pepper Sauce, rather than the more common black bean garlic sauce. The dish is just as tasty using black pepper sauce and is especially tasty when the salmon is fresh and not frozen. The salmon skin is not removed and becomes crispy when the skin is placed directly onto a hot wok. I used green and yellow bell peppers, but you can use any colored bell peppers to make this dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Sockeye salmon (紅鱒鮭魚, hung4 zyun6 gwai1 jyu4), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
1 Tbs.	15 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	1	Green bell pepper (青椒, ceng1 ziu1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
1	1	Yellow bell pepper (黃椒, wong4 ziu1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
10	10	Button mushrooms (蘑菇, mo4 gu1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
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.	Lee Kum Kee brand Black Pepper Sauce (黑椒汁, hak1 ziu1 zap1) or equivalent
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
1 Tbs.	15 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

 

Lee Kum Kee Brand Black Pepper Sauce
(黑椒汁, hak1 ziu1 zap1)

Preparation Instructions

1. If using frozen sockeye salmon, thaw in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Remove any remaining scales from the skin and bones from the flesh of the salmon. Marinate the salmon overnight with the ginger crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. Any salmon or firm flesh fish can be substituted if sockeye salmon is not available, with fresh sockeye salmon being the best choice. Take the salmon out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Clean and cut the button mushrooms into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
3. Wash and cut the green and yellow bell peppers into ½- (15 mm.) x 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. First cut off the ends of the bell pepper, leaving an open cylinder. Remove the seeds and central core of the bell pepper and make one cut lengthwise to open the cylinder. Flatten the open bell pepper cylinder and cut ½-inch (15 mm.) wide by 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Any color bell peppers can be used, just use two different colors.
4. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
5. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Lee Kum Kee brand Black Pepper 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 before adding oil and then the salmon. Stir fry the salmon until brown by forming one layer of salmon, skin side down, in the wok and leaving the salmon alone for a while before flipping it over to brown the other side. You may have to stir fry the salmon in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the browned salmon to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the button mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer them to the bowl with the salmon.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bell peppers. Stir fry the bell peppers 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 salmon 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.