On a trip to Thailand with my beloved we had a cooking class with the Executive Chef of the lovely Aleenta Resort in Hua Hin where we stayed. Chef Rose took us to the markets with her early in the morning to get the produce that was to become our class and our dinner. This is my version of one of her dishes.
Ingredients
2 large green tiger prawns
1 tube calamari
8 scallops
100gm firm white fish (barramundi, snapper, blue eye)
½ bunch gai larn (chinese broccoli)
6 – 8 oyster mushrooms torn
6 – 8 baby corn sliced into 3 on the diagonal
4 spring onions, copped
2 long thai red chillies, sliced into rings
fresh rice noodle sheets
2 tblsp dark soy
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp curry powder*
2 tblsp Shaoxing rice wine
1 tblsp grated ginger
handful of coriander leaves
lime wedges to serve
sesame oil
peanut oil
Method
Slice the rice noodle sheets into 1 ½ “ strips and put into a stainless steel or glass bowl tossed with 1 tblsp dark soy and set aside. This is a new trick I learnt from Chef Rose.
Time to get the seafood ready:
Peel, butterfly and chop the prawns into 1 ½ cm pieces.
Clean the scallops removing the roe if you want.
Cut the fish into bit size pieces
Slice down the side of the calamari tube to open it out flat. Remove the thin membrane on the inside and cut into 2cm x 3cm pieces. Use a sharp knife to score a criss-cross pattern on what was the inside of the tube. If you score it on the outside it won’t curl up nicely.
Slice the stalks of the gai larn into small pieces and roughly chop the leaves. It is best to keep the two separate because you will be adding them at different times.
Heat about a tsp of peanut oil in the wok on a high heat and cook the seafood. It should take about three minutes. Remove and set aside. Lots of stir-fry recipes would have you add the vegies to the seafood (or whatever meat you are using) but I believe that if you cook them separately and add together at the end you have a much better chance of both being cooked properly.
Back to the wok and add another tsp of peanut oil and stir fry the stalks of the gai larn and the baby corn for about 3 minutes. Now add the ginger, curry powder, oyster mushrooms, gai larn leaves, spring onions and chillies. Stir fry for one minute then add the rice noodles. One more minute and add the seafood back in along with the remaining liquids (shaoxing wine, fish sauce, a few drops of sesame oil and remaining soy).
Once it is all heated through you are ready to serve. Thai people use forks for most things, and plates, not bowls. But if you want to use bowls and chopsticks (as I sometimes do) then go for it! Garnish with the coriander and serve with the lime wedges.
To drink? Tiger beer or a try a Viognier.
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