Fermented Bean Curd with Minced Chili Chicken and Mixed Mushroom Fish Balls (辣豆腐乳菇魚蛋鷄, Laat6 Dau6 Fu6 Jyu5 Gu1 Jyu4 Daan6 Gai1)

Here’s another chicken and mixed mushroom fish ball dish using fermented bean curd as the base of the sauce rather than the curry used in the Basil Tomato Curry Chicken and Mixed Mushroom Fish Balls (咖哩紫蘇番茄菇魚蛋鷄, Gaa³ Lei¹ Zi² Sou¹ Faan¹ Ke⁴ Gu¹ Jyu⁴ Daan⁶ Gai¹) recipe. The fermented bean curd also has ground chili mixed in, but the dish really isn’t very spicy.

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.	Fuzzy melon (節瓜, zit3 gwaa1), quartered and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into quarters
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

4-6 cakes	4-6 cakes	Hwang Ryh Shiang brand Fermented Bean Curd with Minced Chili (辣豆腐乳, laat6 dau6 fu6 jyu5) or equivalent
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

 

Hwang Ryh Shiang Brand
Fermented Bean Curd with Minced Chili
(辣豆腐乳, laat6 dau6 fu6 jyu5)

Preparation Instructions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 into quarters. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
5. Scrape off the “fuzz” from the fuzzy melon by holding the melon in one hand and scraping a cleaver or knife in reverse over the skin of the fuzzy melon under running water. This means putting the cleaver at the half way point of the melon with the blade of the cleaver pointing towards you and while holding the cleaver almost parallel to the surface of the fuzzy melon, moving the cleaver away from you, scraping the skin of the fuzz. Reverse the fuzzy melon and repeat the procedure, scraping the fuzz off the other half. Cut the fuzzy melon into quarters lengthwise and then cut each melon quarter into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Hwang Ryh Shiang brand Fermented Bean Curd with Minced Chili or equivalent, 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. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the fuzzy melon. Stir fry the fuzzy melon 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 chicken back into the wok, and gently stir fry all the ingredients together to keep the tomatoes’ shape intact.
5. 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.