Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Taiwan-style Tempura Dishes (台式關東煮, 韭菜花炒甜不辣)

Two more traditional Taiwan-style dishes here.  Taiwan-style tempura is quite a different thing from the Japanese-style tempura.  It is available as fresh product in the seafood department in some, but not all, Chinese markets (see left-hand-side picture below).  It is also available in frozen package (see right-hand-side picture below).  

I. Taiwan-style Tempura Soup (台式關東煮)
  1. [Stock Soup with White Radish] Follow the post to prepare white radish pork soup, bring to boil, and let simmer for 1.5 hours.  Alternatively, use chicken broth instead (1 can of chicken broth, ~1.5 cups, with 2 cans of water, ~3 cups), add 1-2 white radishes (rolling-cut into large chunks) and 3-4 dried mushrooms, bring to boil, and let simmer for 0.5 hour.
  2. [Fish Cake, Fish Balls, and Fried Tofu] Add some fish cake (cut into bite size), some fish balls (魚丸, cut in half), and some Fried Tofu Puff (油豆腐, cut in half).  Bring to boil, and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Season to taste with salt (1/2 tsp initially, then 1/4 tsp each time later).  Note- Need to get the kind of fried tofu puff that is filled with tofu on the inside, as opposed to the kind that is hollow inside. Alternatively, you can fry your own firm tofu pieces if time permits.  Also, please do not put in more ingredients than you can consume in one meal. 
  3. [Tempura] Finally, add Taiwan-style tempura into the soup, bring to boil, and let simmer for 3-4 minutes.  Note- Tempura will lose its flavor if overcooked.   
  4. [The Dipping Sauce]  Add Miso paste into the Sweet and Spicy Sauce (甜辣醬) posted earlier, and then dilute the sauce by adding some stock soup from Step 1.  Here is a picture of the finished product.
II. Taiwan-style Tempura with Chive Flower (韭菜花炒甜不辣)
  1. Rinse ~3/4 lb of Chive Flower (韭菜花, see product package to the right here) and chop into 1" segments (separate the harder segments out, ~1/3 from the root).  Slice Taiwan-style tempura in half along its length.  Soak 4-5 dried mushrooms in water for at least 30 minutes (or in hot water for ~15 minutes), cut off the stems, and slice the mushrooms. Mince 1 stalk of scallions.  Note- Use Chive (韭菜) if Chive Flower is not in season. 
  2. [Medium-to-high Heat] Heat 1-2 Tbsp of veggie oil, add minced scallions, sliced dried mushrooms, and the harder segments of the chive flower, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.  Add the rest of the chive flower segments, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  
  3. [High Heat] Now, add the tempura slices. Add 3-4 dry red chili pepper (for decorative purpose).  Season with 1/2 tsp of white pepper, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 Tbsp of Rice Cooking Wine, 1 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce (or Soy Paste, alternatively 2 tsp of soy sauce with 1 tsp of sugar).  Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.  Note- Using thicker Oyster Sauce or Soy Paste can reduce the water content in the dish, since the chive will produce water when cooked.  Here is a picture of the finished product.



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