Stir Fry King 小炒皇
If done well, this Stir Fry King 小炒皇 demonstrates these traits to perfection, the stir fry working its hot and furious magic to cook the seafood and vegetables just enough and no more while melding the flavors of all to form a delightful unified stir fry incorporating all differents kinds of tastes and textures. And that is why the name for this dish is Stir Fry King!
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 12 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 dried squid 魷魚乾
- 1 cup dried whitebait silver fish 銀魚
- 10 dried whole shrimp 蝦乾
- 10 small fresh shrimp
- 1 medium squid
- 3 cups flowering garlic chives 韭菜花
- 1/4 cup Chinese preserved radish 菜脯 Choi Poh
- 1 cup shredded taro
- 1/2 cup cashew
- 1 tbsp shredded ginger
- 1 tbsp shao hsing rice wine
- 2 tsp sugar
- salt
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the dried seafood: Soak dried squid in cool water for an hour until soft enough to slice. Drain and dry with paper towels. Slice into 2 inch length matchsticks. Soak dried whitebait for 15 mins. Drain and dry well with paper towels. Slice dried shrimps into 3 or 4 sections lengthwise.
- 2
Prepare the fresh seafood: De-shell and devein the fresh shrimp. Wash fresh squid. Pull the head apart from the legs. Cut the eyes and the ink sac away from the legs. Slice legs into separate sections. Pull cartilage from the head, remove skin by picking up a corner and pulling. Slice head into 1/4 inch rings. Pat both shrimp and squid dry with kitchen paper.
- 3
Prepare the veggies: Wash flowering garlic chives. Cut off any tough bottom bits of the stems and slice remaining into 2 inch lengths. Slice the preserved radish choi poh into 2 inch matchsticks. Peel then shred the taro in long shreds, remembering to protect hands with gloves when handling taro.
- 4
Deep Fry: Add 2-3 inches of oil to a hot wok. When bubbles foam around a chopstick stuck in the oil, the oil is hot enough. Add in whitebait. Let fry for 1-2 mins, stirring occasionally or until the fish is golden and crisp. Remove onto paper towels to soak up extra oil. Next add shredded taro into the oil in small batches so as not to crowd the pot, and fry until golden brown. Remove onto paper towels to soak up oil. Repeat until all taro is fried. Add cashews into the oil in a small batches so as not to crowd the pot, and fry until golden brown. Remove onto paper towels to soak up oil. Repeat until all cashews are fried.
- 5
The final stir fry: Add 1 tbsp of oil to a hot wok over very high heat. Add in ginger and give it a stir. Add in fresh squid and fresh shrimp and stir for 1 minute then push to sides of wok. Add another 1 tbsp of oil, add in dried squid, dried shrimp, dried whitebait, chinese preserved radish, and 1 tbsp shao hsing rice wine and stir fry for 1-2 min until fragrant and then push to sides of wok. Add another 1 tbsp of oil, add in the garlic chives and 1 tsp sugar, stir fry for 2 minutes or until the chives are just cooked. Taste and add salt as needed. Turn off heat and add in the fried taro and cashew and give everything a good stir. Scoop out onto a large dish and serve hot. Enjoy!