Sidetracked. Netflix recently released a Korean mini zombie series called "Kingdom." Several friends already recommended me to watch it. I'll try my best to finish the whole thing at once during Chinese New Year. But, do I look like a big fan of zombie movies? I thought I've been hiding that dark side of mine very well..
Sweet fermented flour paste ground pork stir-fry 甜麵醬炒豬絞肉 -
Ingredients?
- 250 grams coarse ground pork
- 2 1/2 cups cubed wild rice stem (or other type of bamboo shoot)
- 2 cups cubed king oyster mushroom
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 stalk scallion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sweet fermented flour paste
- 1 tablespoon spicy fermented bean paste
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
How?
Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Destem and chop the scallion. Peel and cube the onion. Peel and grate the ginger.
Cube the king oyster mushrooms. Trim and cube the wild rice stems. If can't find such ingredient, other type of bamboo shoot works too.
Drizzle enough olive oil in the pan and turn to medium high heat. Add in onion along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Cook till the onion turns translucent.
Add in garlic and grated ginger, cook till aromatic.
Transfer the pork to the pan, give it a quick stir and wait till about 70% cooked through.
Add in wild rice stem or bamboo shoots, king oyster mushroom, sweet fermented flour paste, spicy fermented bean paste, oyster sauce, and Sriracha. Mix till incorporated, and cook till nearly dried up and the sauce has been reduced.
Mix in half of the chopped scallion and give it a quick stir.
Plate and garnish with the other half of chopped scallion. Preferably serve with steamy hot rice.
Back to that zombie series, I checked on IMDb, 8.5, such high rating! It's time to stick my butt back to the sofa with crispy chicken on one hand and boba milk tea on the other.
Other recipe using sweet fermented flour paste/tien mien jiang:
Not the fancy, hyped lobster rolls, but using more approachable shrimps instead. Still keeping it fancy though, by using buttery brioche and top with crumbles of Thai sweet chili chips. Without lobster, we can still eat like kings and queens.
Brioche shrimp rolls with Thai sweet chili chips -
Ingredients (about 3 portions)?
- 12 medium shrimps
- 3 small medium brioche rolls
- 3 lemon wedges
- 1 pack Thai sweet chili chips (or other spicy chips)
- 1/2 cup chopped celery stalk
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Some unsalted butter
How?
It's not necessary to use Thai sweet chili chips, other type of spicy chips work too, or even better, use spicy Cheetos.
Slice an opening on top of brioche rolls for the shrimp filling. Spread some unsalted butter on the sides of brioche rolls. Take a non-stick pan, sear the bread till slightly browned and that buttery aroma comes out.
Peel and devein the shrimps. Blanch the shrimps, drain and pat dry with kitchen towel. Cut into two to three smaller chunks. Mix the shrimps with chopped celery stalk, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Sriracha, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Taste and adjust with more seasonings if needed.
Now just need to assemble the rolls. Stuff the shrimp filling into brioche rolls. Crumble some spicy chips on top, also serve some whole chips on the side, along with lemon wedges.
I got the idea of using crumbled chips as topping from a popular restaurant in downtown LA. Can't recall the name of the place now, but such idea has been imprinted in my head for years. Finally, it's my term to translate that inspiration into an actual dish.
As for the filling, since Sriracha was used as one of the seasonings, I think Thai sweet chili chips work really well here. Some similarities can be found in both ingredients.
Put that aside, we can't find spicy Cheetos here in Taiwan, what's up with that!?
Other shrimp related recipes:
