Recipe thanks to Chef Jai Gibbons
Ingredients
- 1 red rock cod, filleted and diced
- 2 rashers of bacon diced
- 1-2 tablespoons of fermented chilli bean paste
- 1 knob of ginger finely grated
- 1 tin water chestnuts, quartered
- 1 bunch shallots cut into 1 inch batons
- 1 bunch of coriander
- 100g firm tofu cut into 2cm x 1cm chunks
- 2 sticks of celery sliced into half moons
- 100g flour
- 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds
- Salt
- White pepper
- 30ml Shaoxing wine
- 150mls veg oil
- Jasmine rice
- abalone (optional) and if you can find one
Method
Fish / veg
Heat a wok to a high heat with 120mls of veg oil. Mix diced fish with flour and shake excess off, quickly fry in the hot oil in batches until golden and 50% cooked. Remove from wok and let it drain on paper towel. Remove most of the oil from the wok and quickly cook celery, water chestnuts and shallots for a few minutes while tossing on a high heat. You want them to have just started to cook but still be crunchy. Remove from the wok and set aside in a bowl.
Abalone
Give your abalone a wash and a bit of a scrub/rub to remove any dirt or sand. Put a heavy based pan on the lowest your burner/stovetop can go and add a tiny bit of oil place the whole abalone in flesh side down and let it cook for between 20-30 minutes. It should only lightly colour. Turn the heat off and let the abalone rest and relax. Remove the abalone from the shell and remove the guts. Cut the abalone into 3mm batons.
Stir fry
Heat the wok to a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil, add diced bacon and cook until the fat has rendered, add the ginger and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the Shaoxing wine and reduce by half. Add the fermented chilli paste and cook out for a few minutes add a pinch of white pepper. Then add about 40mls of water to the sauce and stir until combined. add the fish back to the wok, toss the fish to coat with the sauce then add the vegetables and abalone(optional) back in and toss until the sauce coats everything and it is nice and hot. Garnish with coriander and sesame seeds and serve with some steamed jasmine rice.
