Oyster Sauce Broccoli Shrimp (蠔油西蘭花蝦, Hou4 Jau4 Sai1 Laan4 Faa1 Haa1)

This dish is an easy to make shrimp dish using oyster sauce and broccoli. I found a method to make shrimp crunchy in dishes, like those found at Chinese restaurants. The method can be found at: How to make shrimp crunchy? | Easy Delicious Recipes: Rasa Malaysia. I modified the method to also marinade the shrimp overnight and omitted the egg whites. I also precook the broccoli florets in the microwave to reduce the stir frying time in the wok.

Enjoy!

Basil Oyster Sauce Shrimp (蠔油紫蘇蝦, Hou4 Jau4 Zi2 Sou1 Haa1)

Shrimp and oyster sauce makes a great taste combination, and for this dish, fresh basil leaves are added. Previous recipes also used this shrimp and oyster sauce combination: Oyster Sauce Shrimp with Japanese Chilies (蠔油日本指天椒蝦, Hou⁴ Jau⁴ Jat⁶ Bun² Zi² Tin¹ Ziu¹ Haa¹) and Oyster Sauce Shrimp with String Beans (青豆角蠔油蝦, Ceng¹ Dau⁶ Gok³ Hou⁴ Jau⁴ Haa¹).

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Sauce Sugar Snap Pea Shrimp Noodles (黑豆辣椒蜜豆蝦麵, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Mat6 Dau6 Haa1 Min6)

The crunchiness of the sugar snap peas contrasts nicely with the texture of the shrimp in this slightly spicy black bean chili sauce noodle dish. You would think that stir fried noodle dishes are easy to make (and they are), but the number of ingredients contained in this common dish can be large, making the preparation and cooking these dishes at home a process longer than one would expect. This really isn’t a problem in a restaurant because of the high heat available to heat the wok. In a restaurant, the ingredients are added one after the other to the wok without really affecting the high temperature, resulting in a tasty quick cooking dish. This is not true for a typical home kitchen because the heat source is not as powerful as that found in restaurants. So if the restaurant method was used at home to cook the dish, the first ingredient would stir fry because the temperature would be high, but the subsequent ingredients would steam rather than brown because the temperature would drop with each added ingredient. Hence the need for the home cook to reheat the wok before adding and then removing each ingredient separately in order to stir fry, rather than steam, the ingredients. I’ve used this wok cooking method at home even though I have a special wok burner in my kitchen, which doesn’t approach the heat generated in a restaurant, but is hotter than the typical heat source found in most home kitchens. So if you’re stir frying over a typical kitchen stove burner, the time needed to cook a dish is longer since the time needed to reheat the wok is longer.

Enjoy!

Oyster Sauce Shrimp with Japanese Chilies (蠔油日本指天椒蝦, Hou4 Jau4 Jat6 Bun2 Zi2 Tin1 Ziu1 Haa1)

The combination of the dried red Japanese chilies, together with the sweetness of the shrimp and oyster sauce, makes a great flavor combination. The new ingredient that I tried in this dish was purchased at my local Mexican market: dried red Japanese chili peppers, which are similar to the more common Chile de árbol peppers (which have more heat to them). The dried red Japanese chili peppers aren’t mind numbing hot like the dried red chilies that you can purchase at your local Asian market. While there is some heat, the chilies are more flavorful than hot.

I recently went to a local Chinese restaurant, whose specialties are dishes cooked with chilies (lots of chilies!). What was interesting about one dish was that there were handfuls of these red chili peppers in the dish, but you tasted the underlying flavor of the chili more than any heat. The dish was very spicy without being hot. So I thought about how to get these chilies, and I knew that they weren’t available at my local Asian market. I realized that these chilies are available in bulk at my local Mexican market. I bought a good amount and tried using dried red Japanese chilies in this dish and got the result I was hoping for.
 

The translation of the Japanese chili peppers to Chinese characters is probably not correct. I appended “Japan” to “dried red chili peppers”, so I would appreciate if someone could tell me what the correct translation should be.

Enjoy!

Hot Bean Sauce Shrimp and Mixed Mushroom Fish Balls with Ground Pork, (辣豆辦菇魚蛋蝦豬肉, Laat6 Dau6 Faan6 Gu1 Jyu4 Daan6 Haa1 Zyu1 Juk6)

This recipe uses the classic Chinese combination of seafood and meat to make this tasty dish. The seafood ingredients are shrimp and fish balls, and the meat is ground pork, together in a spicy bean sauce. The amount of sauce in this dish is also important and is more of a gravy than a sauce (i.e. there’s a lot of sauce!). The amount of sauce is a personal preference, so feel free to adjust the amount by adding less or more of the Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid, but you’re likely on adding more rather than less.

Enjoy!

Chili Paste with Fermented Soy Bean Scallops and Gulf Shrimp (湖南豆豉辣椒帶子蝦, Wu4 Naam4 Dau6 Si6 Laat6 Ziu1 Daai3 Zi2 Haa1)

Gulf shrimp are harvested from the Gulf of Mexico on the southern Gulf Coast in the USA. If you’re fortunate enough to live in that area, the shrimp can be purchased fresh, but if you’re like me, they’re occasionally available frozen or thawed. So when I saw thawed Gulf shrimp available at my local market, I couldn’t resist buying them. These shrimp were on the large size: 16/20, which means that there are 16-20 shrimp per pound (500 g.). Thawed scallops were also available, so I decided to pair the two with a spicy sauce and sugar snap peas. The dish is actually very easy to make and cooks quickly, with the danger being overcooking the shrimp or scallops.

Enjoy!

Shallot Sauce Scallop, Shrimp, and Chicken (紅蔥帶子蝦雞, Hung4 Cung1 Daai3 Zi2 Haa1 Gai1)

This is a very tasty combination seafood and chicken dish. The use of shallot sauce is not very common, but adds a nice flavor to the seafood and chicken. Black bean garlic sauce would be a more common sauce to use, and can be easily purchased bottled at your local Asian market. The dish takes a little time to prepare if, like me, you use frozen scallops and shrimp. The shrimp need to be thawed overnight in the refrigerator and then marinated for at least an hour. The scallops just need to be thawed overnight.

Enjoy!

Chili Garlic Sauce Ground Pork and Shrimp with Chives (蒜蓉辣椒韭菜豬肉蝦, Syun3 Jung4 Laat6 Ziu1 Gau2 Coi3 Zyu1 Juk6 Haa1)

Ground pork and shrimp make a great taste combination when used together in a dish. The chives add a mild flavor to the shrimp and ground pork combination, while the chili garlic sauce adds the spiciness. So the blended flavors of all ingredients go together to make this tasty dish.

Enjoy!

Sea Cucumber, Shrimp, and Chicken Hong Kong Noodles (海參蝦雞雲吞麵, Hoi2 Sam1 Haa1 Gai1 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

This is not the typical noodle dish that I would make for an everyday lunch because of the ingredients and effort involved in making it. As with many Chinese dishes, seafood and meat are combined together for a tasty combination. In this case, the seafood is sea cucumber and shrimp, and the meat is chicken. In my experience, sea cucumber was served for special occasions and often at banquets celebrating those occasions. While there wasn’t a special occasion for making this dish, just having sea cucumber in a dish signifies that the meal is out of the ordinary. Sea cucumber is available in the USA either frozen or dried. The dried version takes a few days of preparation, so I prefer using the frozen version. Sea cucumber can be black or white in color, with the black type being more common and the white being less available (and more expensive). There’s no difference in taste that I can detect, so use whatever type is available.

Hong Kong noodles are used to make this dish and, in keeping with a dish that’s out of the ordinary, are specially prepared by forming a disc of noodles, and then making them crispy and slightly burnt for flavor on the outside, while still being soft on the inside. This can be accomplished by using a hot wok to crisp and brown the outsides (which is the method I used) or by baking the noodle disc in a hot oven after spraying oil on the surface. Since crispy noodles are used in this dish, the other ingredients used as the topping are “wet”, meaning that the toppings are contained in a corn starch thickened sauce. Finally, the dish is prepared in reverse from most noodles dishes, in that the noodles are cooked first, followed by the toppings.

Enjoy!

Bean Sauce Sugar Snap Pea Shrimp (豆瓣蜜豆蝦, Dau6 Faan6 Mat6 Dau6 Haa1)

Shrimp with vegetables in a bean sauce is a common dish served in Chinese-American restaurants. Thin strips of carrot always seem to be included in the restaurant dish and are also included in this home cooked version. Coin mushrooms are used in this dish and are so named because the size of these Shiitake mushrooms resembles that of a coin. Coin mushrooms are usually not included in the dish when served at restaurants, but can be added to a home cooked dish where cost is not necessarily a factor in creating the dish. Full-sized Shiitake mushrooms can be substituted (cut into pieces) if coin mushrooms are not available.

Enjoy!

Salted Radish Shrimp Chow Mein (菜脯蝦炒麵, Coi3 Pou2 Haa1 Caau2 Min6)

Salted radish and shrimp make a great taste combination. The crunchiness and saltiness of the radish contrast nicely with the softness and sweetness of the shrimp. In the USA, the names prawn and shrimp are used interchangeably, with prawn usually meaning a large shrimp; either ingredient can be used in this recipe. Baby bok choy adds a nice color contrast to the dish. The baby bok choy is cut into quarters lengthwise, but if the stalks are small, they should be cut in half.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Shrimp Hong Kong Noodles (蝦雞炒雲吞麵, Haa1 Gai1 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Chicken and shrimp taste great together, and for this recipe, are paired with Hong Kong noodles (in Cantonese: won ton noodles). The noodles are flavored with just the basics – soy sauce (thick and regular) and some Shaoxing wine - so the taste of the chicken and shrimp aren’t hidden by the sauce.

Enjoy!

Shrimp Sauce Chicken Rice Roll Chow Fun (幼滑蝦雞炒腸粉, Jau3 Waat6 Haa1 Gai1 Caau2 Coeng4 Fan2)

Shrimp sauce is an unusual addition to a noodle dish, but I liken it to anchovy paste, which is used in many dishes to enhance flavor. Like anchovy paste, even though it is a fish/shrimp based ingredient, there’s no fishy taste once it’s cooked. Shrimp sauce is an unusual shade of purple out of the bottle, but don’t let that stop you from using it. An alternative to use, if shrimp paste is not available, is fish sauce.

Chow fun noodles should be fresh and unrefrigerated before cooking. The texture of the noodles becomes hard once refrigerated, so to keep the soft texture they should be bought and used the same day. In California, where I live, there is a law that allows chow fun noodles to be sold unrefrigerated. If only refrigerated chow fun noodles are available, microwaving the noodles will soften them, but the texture will not be the same as fresh.

When you eat chow fun noodle dishes at a Chinese restaurant, you can specify (at the good restaurants) that you want the dish wet or dry. What that means is that you can specify if you want the noodles with or without gravy. With gravy (“wet”) means that the sauce will be more liquid, thickened with a corn starch slurry; without (“dry”) means that the sauce will be minimal with no thickeners. This dish is a “wet” version of chow fun. My previous recipes for chow fun are “dry” – Black Bean Chili Sauce Beef Rice Roll Chow Fun (黑豆辣椒牛肉炒粉, Hak¹ Dau⁶ Laat⁶ Ziu¹ Ngau⁴ Juk⁶ Caau² Fan²) and Spicy Pork Rice Roll Chow Fun (辣豆辦豬肉炒粉, Laat⁶ Dau⁶ Faan⁶ Zyu¹ Juk⁶ Caau² Fan²)

Enjoy!

Italian Sausage and Rock Shrimp Pasta

Rock shrimp has a very hard shell (“hard as a rock”, hence the name) and tastes like lobster. A previous recipe used rock shrimp, Chicken and Rock Shrimp with Winter Melon (冬瓜蝦仁雞, Dung¹ Gwaa¹ Haa¹ Jan⁴ Gai¹), and for this recipe, thin spaghetti was used together with hot Italian sausage to create a pasta dish. As is usual for my pasta recipes, I use a wok to stir fry the pasta before adding the sauce. Making a pasta dish is no different to me than making chow mein – the techniques are the same, I’m just using a different sauce to make the noodles.

 

Enjoy!

Basil Black Bean Chili Sauce Fuzzy Melon Shrimp (紫蘇黑豆辣椒節瓜蝦, Zi2 Sou1 Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Zit3 Gwaa1 Haa1)

Here’s a shrimp dish that has some spice to it, along with the taste of fresh basil leaves. The spice comes from Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce. You can, of course, make the sauce from scratch yourself, or use an equivalent brand, but this brand is readily available where I live. The sauce is spicy and not hot, so if you want hot, add dried red chili peppers to the recipe.

Enjoy!

Chili Paste with Fermented Soy Bean Shrimp and Salmon (湖南豆豉辣椒鮭魚蝦, Wu4 Naam4 Dau6 Si6 Laat6 Ziu1 Gwai1 Jyu4 Haa1)

This is a nice and spicy recipe using shrimp and salmon. The hardest thing about making this dish is being gentle when stir frying the salmon so that it doesn’t break up into little pieces.

Enjoy!

Sea Cucumber, Shrimp, and Chicken with Abalone Sauce (鮑魚醬海參蝦雞, Baau1 Jyu4 Zoeng3 Hoi2 Sam1 Haa1 Gai1)

Happy Lunar New Year! Sea cucumber is an ocean sea slug treasured for its texture and (supposed) medicinal properties, and is a special occasion ingredient. White sea cucumber is prized over the black sea cucumber, and I used it in this first recipe for Lunar New Year’s. Sea cucumber (either color) is itself tasteless, so the taste of the dish comes from the other ingredients. It is available either dried or frozen at your local Asian herb store (dried version) or Asian market (frozen). So there is some preparation work that must be done before sea cucumber can be used in a dish. I prefer the frozen version since all you have to do is thaw it the day before using it.

There are really two cooking techniques needed to make this dish: stir frying and braising. The chicken, shrimp, and snow peas need to be stir fried before the coin mushrooms and sea cucumber are braised in the sauce and mushroom rehydration liquid to generate the flavor for the dish. This dish is made with a lot of sauce, which is provided by the mushroom rehydration liquid, adding the necessary volume for this dish. Since this is a festive dish, abalone sauce and brandy is used to make the sauce, but you can use oyster sauce and Shaoxing wine (which I normally use to make sauces).

Meat and seafood is a classic combination in Chinese dishes. Usually the meat part of the combination is pork and you’ll find may recipes using various parts of the pig with sea cucumber (I want to try making pig’s feet and sea cucumber!). Chicken as the meat with sea cucumber is unusual, but it certainly is tasty.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Rock Shrimp with Winter Melon (冬瓜蝦仁雞, Dung1 Gwaa1 Haa1 Jan4 Gai1)

Rock shrimp has a very hard shell (“hard as a rock”, hence the name) and tastes like lobster. My local Asian market had a special price on rock shrimp, so I couldn’t resist buying some. You need about one lb. (500 g.) of whole rock shrimp to produce about ½ lb. (250 g.) of shrimp meat. Shrimp meat can be substituted for rock shrimp. Mixing seafood and meat is a classic combination in Chinese dishes. In this case, I used chicken together with the rock shrimp together with winter melon.

Enjoy!

Garam Masala Long Bean Shrimp (胡荽豆角蝦, Wu4 Seoi1 Dau6 Gok3 Haa1)

Garam masala powder is the basis for this dish and I think of it as a spicier version of curry powder. I think I got the translation into Chinese correct for garam masala, but I’m not certain. The use of prepared curry powder is common in Cantonese American dishes, so the use of garam masala is a variation on the more common dish that uses curry powder. This is actually a good dish to have over rice.

Enjoy!

Curry Cashew Long Bean Shrimp (咖哩腰果豆角蝦, Gaa3 Lei1 Jiu1 Gwo2 Dau6 Gok3 Haa1)

When you see a dish in a Chinese restaurant whose title contains the word, curry, it means that curry powder was added to the sauce. These dishes are usually stir fried (even when curry is used in a clay pot) and reflects the quick nature of Chinese wok cooking. This dish reflects that background using long beans and shrimp. The cashew nuts are toasted while the wok heats up, and then the ingredients are cooked quickly over high heat before adding the curry sauce. The one thing that a home kitchen can’t reproduce fully is the wok flavor imparted to the dish that comes from using high heat available in restaurant, the so called, “breath of the wok” (鑊氣, wok⁶ hei³).

Enjoy!