Wok Wednesdays | Fujianese-Style Stir-Fried Fish with Peppers

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

This stir-fry consists of fish that has been oil blanched before stir-frying. Grace herself is not a fan of this type of preparation, but included it in her book because it is so popular with Chinese restaurant chefs, and for us to experience what it is like. She even states this method is not practical (using and discarding two cups of oil) or healthy for the home cook.

I took a cue from Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories, and placed the oil blanched fish on a plate lined with paper towels, and dabbed the top of the fish with another paper towel to help soak up some of the oil before proceeding with the recipe.

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Codfish, egg white, salt

Bowl 2: Garlic, ginger

Bowl 3: Bell pepper

Bowl 4: Scallion

Bowl 5: Chicken broth, dry sherry, cornstarch, sugar, salt

 

The recipe calls for fish with the skin on; this is to help keep the fish from falling apart when (ever-so-gently) stir-frying. However, the cod from the fish market was skinned, hence the broken pieces of fish.

I always seem to mutilate my fish when I remove the pin bones. Maybe using pliers instead of tweezers might help. I was able to get out all of the bones! And that is a good thing.

This would be a great stir-fry for those with a tame palate. Me, I prefer more bold flavors - I'm thinking a bit of soy sauce added to the broth mixture and some Thai red pepper would be a tasty addition to this dish.

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 176, of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.

 

Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts with Chili Bean Sauce

WW wokking thru Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

This is a very simple and tasty side-dish. Andy said it would make a complete meal if I just tossed in some diced chicken or beef - and that it would.

Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Garlic
Bowl 2: Bean sprouts, carrots
Bowl 3: Scallions
Bowl 4: Salt
Bowl 5: Dry sherry, bean sauce, sambal oelek, soy sauce

The recipe calls for chili bean sauce which I did not have - so I mixed equal parts of ground bean sauce and sambal oelek. Next time I will reduce the salt by a quarter teaspoon, for I felt it was just a tad salty.

Prep of this stir-fry is pretty minimal and cook time is almost non-existent, maybe two minutes - if that. Just a quick rinse and spin-dry of the sprouts, julienning of the carrots and scallions - which is a snap if you have a kinpira peeler and a negi cutter (shown below), mincing a couple teaspoons of garlic, and mixing up of the sauce.

The garlic gets a quick stir in the wok before adding the vegetables, which get cooked for only a minute or so, just until the sprouts start to wilt. The scallions and salt are added along with the sauce and stir-fried for less than a minute more - and your done! You have yourself a delicious stir-fry.

Kinpira peeler on the left - negi cutter on the right.

Not only is this a healthy stir-fry (well, they all have been healthy), but Grace mentions, "when the weather's hot, it's important to eat more yin, or cooling vegetables like bean sprouts to restore balance to your body."

I read that cooling vegetables cool and calm the blood, and help remove toxins as well. For a list of other cooling (and warming [yang]) foods, head over to Ping Ming Health's website. I found it to be quite interesting, you may as well.

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 200, of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.