Ruo Gen is the pronunciation for a traditional Taiwanese food. The two most common ingredients for Ruo Gen are ground pork and blended fish meat. Some also add vegetables such as chopped mushrooms and carrots. Basically just mix all the ingredients together, usually with additional corn starch or other type of binding agent to form the base of ruo gen.
Bring a big pot of water to a boil, simply use your hands to squeeze out an irregular, rectangle or stick liked shape of ruo gen and let it cooked through in the water. Ruo gen can be store in the freezer for quite some time. This ingredient is usually utilized as the main ingredients for a type of Taiwanese glutinous soup or soup noodles.
Taiwanese Ruo Gen Soup Noodles -
Ingredients (3 to 4 portions)?
2 cups of ruo gen
5 cups of unsalted chicken stock
5 shitake mushrooms
4 wood ears
1 carrot (however I forgot to use it during the cooking process)
1 small bamboo
1 small bundle of cilantro
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of black vinegar
Some soy sauce
1 teaspoon of Chinese chili sauce
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
Some white pepper powder
Some corn starch and water mixture
Some fresh alkaline noodles
How?
My mom helped me to buy most of the ingredients from a local market, thank you! As for the ruo gen, I got it for free from a local fish vendor. Thank you too!
*I'll make my own ruo gen and share the recipe in the future.
Prepare the ingredients first. Remove the mushroom stems. Slice the caps into strips and set aside. Discard wood ears' tough center stems. Slice the remaining section into strips and set aside. Peel and discard bamboo's outer tough skin. Slice and chop into thin strips. I forgot to use the carrot, otherwise peel and chop into strips also.
Grate the ginger, give the cilantro a few chops. Peel and chop the shallots and garlic cloves into tiny pieces.
Most people prefer to cook the soup with a deep pan, I used an iron cast pot instead. Drizzle the olive oil, add in chopped shallots and garlic along with some salt and pepper into the pot. Bring to medium high heat and cook till the aroma comes out, about 2 minutes.
Add in sliced mushrooms and wood ears. Give it a quick stir, cook till the mushroom appears softened. Next, transfer the bamboo into the pot along with grated ginger, soy sauce. Cook for another minute.
Pour in the chicken stock, black vinegar, chili sauce, and ruo gen. Bring to a boil first then turn down the heat a little bit. Just let it simmer for a while, about 10 minutes. Add in some chopped cilantro and white pepper powder, mix well.
Have the corn starch and water mixture ready. Slowly pour into the pot while stirring at the same time to prevent lumps. You might need to adjust the amount of corn starch and water mixture in order to reach your desired thickness for the soup.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the fresh alkaline noodles till desired texture. Once ready, drain well then transfer to individual bowls. Scoop in the soup and garnish with some fresh cilantro.
You can adjust the taste by using more black vinegar and chili sauce. For my personal preference, I like it extra spicy with lots of vinegar. The glooey character of the soup helps in clinging on the noodles, making every bite packed with flavors.
Usually for the ease of blogging, I'll have a pen and a piece of paper next to me during the cooking process. Writing down the ingredients used and the steps then store the information for later use. You know, as my age keeps adding up, most likely there's no return for my fading memory capability. It's getting harder to recall all the details for any particular dish.
This is one of the few dishes that I forgot to write down the information. Lucky enough, the ingredients and preparation steps are pretty standard. Hopefully my brain will not fail me this time in presenting this spicy and garlicky stir fry recipe to you.
Spicy and garlicky stir fry shrimps with asparagus and button mushrooms -
Ingredients?
1 dozen shrimps (peeled and deveined)
1 small bundle of asparagus (skinny type)
10 button mushrooms
5 garlic cloves
4 fresh red chilies (shorter kind)
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
Some sea salt
Some freshly ground black pepper
Some olive oil
How?
Cut off and discard the very bottom of the asparagus. The asparagus used here do not need to peel off the outer skin since the whole stalk is very soft and delicate. Just grab all the asparagus and dice them diagonally all at once, into 1/3 inch pieces.
Halve or quarter the mushrooms depending on the sizes. Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Discard the stems from the chilies and cut into small pieces. Do not remove the seeds because we want that spicy kick while enjoying this dish.
Drizzle enough olive oil to evenly coat the bottom of the pan, about 3 to 3 tablespoons. Add in sliced garlic and chopped chilies. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Use medium heat to slowly cook these two ingredients till the aroma comes out. Add in grated ginger and let the heat to brighten up the flavor.
Turn up the heat and add in the asparagus and mushrooms when the garlic slices turn slightly brown on the edges. Sprinkle more salt depending on your preference. Cook for about one to two minutes. Lastly, add in the shrimps and cook till fully cooked through.
The asparagus is really good with garlic. Sometimes for the sake of less cleaning work, I simply bake the asparagus in the oven with some salt, pepper, and olive oil. Maybe turn up a notch with some shaved parmigiano reggiano. But trust me, you can also stir fry asparagus with garlic, mix and match with some of your favorite ingredients. If go easy on the garlic and chilies, this can also serve as a delicious side dish for any kind of seared fish.
Other recent shrimps related recipes:
Stir fry shrimps with vegetables and a touch of cilantro
Spaghetti with creamy fava bean sauce and rosemary infused grilled shrimps
