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!

Abalone Sauce Chinese Broccoli Fish (鮑魚醬芥蘭魚, Baau1 Jyu4 Zoeng3 Gaai3 Laan4 Jyu4)

As with any stir fried fish dish, a firm fleshed fish is necessary so that the fish pieces remain intact during cooking. Fresh fish fillets, rather than frozen, are preferable, but frozen fillets will work. Lee Kum Kee brand abalone sauce is used to make this fish dish and is now my preferred brand. The sauce was just recently released for sale in the USA and can be purchased at your local Asian market.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Snow Pea Hong Kong Noodles (荷蘭豆雞炒雲吞麵, Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Gai1 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

So the idea for this dish was to use ingredients (outside of the noodles) that were roughly the same size. Since snow peas were the principal vegetable in this dish, the other ingredients were chosen to mimic the snow peas visually. So chicken breast was chosen as the cut of meat to use since regular sized strips can be cut from it. If chicken thighs were used, the cut pieces would be more irregular and rectangular, rather than strip-like. Marinated (five-spice) bean curd was chosen because it comes formed in cakes that are approximately 2-inch (5 cm.) squares that can be thinly sliced. The dish is finished with a basic dark soy based sauce that just coats all the ingredients.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chee Hou Sauce Chicken (燒烤柱候鷄, Siu1 Haau1 Cyu5 Hau6 Gai1)

Chee Hou sauce is usually used as a flavoring ingredient in the Beef Flank and Tendon Stew (燜牛筋牛腩, Man¹ Ngau⁴ Gan¹ Ngau⁴ Naam⁵) recipe. The sauce is very similar to hoisin sauce, which can be substituted, but tastes just slightly spicier. For this dish, it is used as part of the marinade for grilled chicken.

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!

Grilled Capsicum Chicken (燒烤紅油辣椒鷄, Siu1 Haau1 Hung4 Jau4 Laat6 Ziu1 Gai1)

The principal flavor in this dish is capsicum, which is a fancy way of saying ground chili, with red oil. The capsicum is more spicy than hot, so the flavor of the chilies are dominant in the marinade over any heat. The capsicum is suspended in red oil that also is a necessary part of the marinade. The oil takes on the flavor of the capsicum and adds to the marinades flavor.

Enjoy!