Black Bean Chili Oil Ground Turkey with Zucchini (黑豆辣椒油意大利青瓜火雞, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Ji3 Daai6 Lei6 Ceng1 Gwaa1 Fo2 Gai1)

This dish is usually made with ground pork, but ground turkey makes a good substitute when it’s handy. The dish is really simple to make and if you’re pressed for time, marinating the ground turkey can be omitted. This is a very inexpensive dish to make, since it’s basically ground meat with vegetables in a (spicy) sauce, and it’s one of the dishes I grew up eating. You can use any ground meat and any vegetable that’s in season to make variations of this recipe. I added Shiitake mushrooms, but the mushrooms can also be omitted if desired.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Ground turkey (火雞, fo2 gai1)
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.	Zucchini (意大利青瓜, ji3 daai6 lei6 ceng1 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 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

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Laoganma brand Black Bean Chili Oil (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 Tbs.	15 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

Laoganma Brand Black Bean Chili Oil
(黑豆辣椒油, hak1 dau6 laat6 ziu1 jau4)

1. Marinate the ground turkey 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 turkey overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. 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. If you need to rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms quickly, use the method described here: Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).
3. Wash and cut the zucchini in quarters, and cut ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces from each zucchini quarter.
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.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Laoganma brand Black Bean Chili Oil 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. Add the ground turkey to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside, breaking up any large clumps that form. You may have to cook the turkey in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the turkey 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 to the bowl with the turkey.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the zucchini. Stir fry to brown the zucchini. 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 turkey 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 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.