Family style dried oysters, pork, mushrooms, and black moss.
HO SI FAT CHOI 好事發財
One pound streaky pork belly (五花腩 'ng fa nam'), left whole.
A small handful (about a quarter of a 兩) of black moss (髮菜 'fat choi').
A dozen dried oysters (蠔豉 'ho si').
3 - 5 dried shiitake mushrooms (冬菇 'dong gu').
2 or 3 cloves garlic.
A small thumblength ginger.
A little bit of ground pepper and a pinch of five spice powder.
Half cup soy sauce.
Half cup sherry or rice wine.
Half cup stock or water.
Soak the black moss, dried oysters, and shiitake separately for an hour or so. Rinse the black moss and the oysters to remove sand or grit.
Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid.
Whack the garlic and ginger with the flat side of a cleaver, but do not smash them.
Heat a little oil in a wok. Gild the garlic and ginger briefly, remove from pan and set aside.
Fry the piece of pork on all sides until the colour has changed and it is fragrant - drain off any excess grease that melted out. Add the mushrooms, as well as the garlic and ginger, quick-fry briefly. Then add the oysters, liquids, and spices. Simmer for forty five minutes or so. Add the black moss, and cook for about twenty minutes more. Add water if necessary to keep the dish moist. Arrange on a platter with some blanched baby bokchoi.
Garnish with cilantro or spring onion.
The pork should be soft enough that it can be broken with chopsticks or cut with a spoon, but you may wish to slice it for better presentation. This is enough for four people, but keeps well if there are any leftovers.
Of course, key to New Years preparation is cleaning the house and putting up scrolls. The cleaning part is perhaps a little impossible, as I thrive on clutter. So are the scrolls, mostly.
And citrus fruits. Oranges, tangerines, pomelos.
Flowering plum and narcissus.
==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment