#Taste of Thursday with Chef David Wong

EARLS KUNG PAO NOODLE BOWL

 

Singaporean inspired noodle dish – wok fried with flavours of lime leaf and chili served with Asian vegetables.  The side of Mama Wong’s Chili Sauce is for the guest to add as much extra heat as desired. This style of cooking is over medium high heat, it should be hot enough to sear the flavours into the ingredients without burning. Once you have all your preparation done, the fish can be made in about 3 minutes.

Served with choice of Chicken, prawns or Tofu

1 fl oz	Vegetable Oil
½ Tbsp	Minced Garlic
½ Tbsp	Minced Ginger
1.5 oz	Red Pepper (¼” x 2” batons)
1.5 oz	Carrot (1/16” x 2-3”)
1.5 oz	Yu Choy (2” pieces)
1.2 oz	King Oyster Mushroom (¼” x 1 ½” batons)
8 oz	Fresh Shanghai noodles
2 fl oz	Vegetable stock
½ t	Fine Salt
3 fl oz	Hokkien Stir Fry Sauce (see recipe)
6 pieces	Pickled Cucumber (see recipe)
6 pieces	Cilantro Leaves
1 t	Lime Leaf – ribs removed, 1/16” diced
1 T	Green Onion (1/8” cut on bias)
1 t	Fried Onions
1 t	Chopped Roasted Peanuts
1 t	Sesame Seeds
6 pieces	Red Fresno Pepper Coins (1/16”)
8	Chili Threads
1 fl oz	Mama Wong’s Chili Sauce (see recipe)

 

Place wok over medium high heat and allow to heat for 30 seconds.

Add 1 fl oz Vegetable Oil into hot wok and continue to heat until the oil ripples.

Add minced garlic & ginger – Stir with tongs to break up and coat the garlic and ginger in the oil. Cook until aromatics are released, approximately 10 seconds. Do not let brown.

Gently as 1.5 oz Red Pepper, 1.5 oz Carrot, 1.5 oz Yu Choy, and 1.2 oz King Oyster Mushroom Toss and cook until Yu Choy slightly wilts – approximately 30 seconds.

Add 8 oz Shanghai Noodles, 2 fl oz Vegetable Stock and ½ t Fine Salt. Toss and bring to a simmer for 30-45 seconds or until liquid is nearly evaporated. Let the moisture settle to ensure there is not excess moisture in the bottom of the pan.

Add 3 fl oz Hokkien Stir Fry Sauce and toss to coat evenly. Cook until noodles are hot through, approx. 30 seconds.

Plate and top with 6 pieces Pickled Cucumber, 6 pieces Cilantro Leaves, 1 t diced Lime Leaves, 1 T Green Onion, 1 t Fried Onions, 1 t Chopped Roasted Peanuts, 1 t Sesame Seeds, 6 pieces Red Fresno Pepper Coins, and 8 Chili Threads. Serve with 1 oz Mama Wong’s Chili Sauce on the side.

 

EARLS HOKKIEN SAUCE for Kung Pao Noodles                                                                                     

 

3 fl oz	Vegetable Oil
14 oz	Minced Garlic Cloves
14 oz	Minced Ginger
10.5 oz	Fermented Chili Bean Sauce (available in most Asian food stores)
10.5 oz	Sweet bean paste  (available in most Asian food stores)
10.5 oz	White Wine Vinegar
7 oz	Sugar
8.3 oz	Kikkoman Soy Sauce
6.4 oz	Dark Soy Sauce
5.2 oz	Lime Juice (freshly squeezed)
1 qt + 16oz	Water
3.5 oz	Cornstarch
11 fl oz	Water

 

Add oil to heavy pan over medium high heat until rippling

Add garlic and ginger and sweat until translucent, approximately 1 minute.

Add fermented chili bean, sweet bean, white wine vinegar, sugar, both soy sauces, lime juice and water, stir to combine thoroughly.  Bring to a simmer.

 

In a bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water then whisk into pot, bringing to a boil continuing to whisk. Boil for approximately 2 minutes then remove from heat.

Can be made up to 4 days in advance, sealed and stored in a refrigerator

 

MAMA WONG’S CHILI SAUCE                                                                          

 

1 GALLON	INGREDIENTS
8.5 oz	Bird’s Eye Chilies (Stems Removed)
2 lb 1.6 oz	Garlic Cloves
4 lb 9 oz	Green Relish
1 lb 10 oz	White Vinegar
1 lb 5 oz	Sriracha Chili
2 fl oz + 1 t	Sugar
1 T + 1 ¾ t	Fine Salt
1 T + 1 ¾ t	Water

 

Place chili’s (stem removed, peeled garlic cloves, green relish into a food processor and pulse until  1/16” is achieved. Bring vinegar, chili, sugar and salt to a boil, add remaining ingredients from food processer, bring back to a boil and immediately turn to simmer for 15 minutes. Best when made a few days in advance, can be stores in sealed container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

 

PICKLED CUCUMBER                                                                                      

 

8 oz	1 lb		Cucumber (1/16” coins)
4 fl oz	8 fl oz		White Wine Vinegar

 

Combine and marinate 1 hour.

Drain and discard liquid

 

MINCED GINGER                          

 

1 lb 12 oz	Ginger (washed with cold water, drained and  sliced approx. ¼” )
2 fl oz	Vegetable Oil

 

Place ginger into a food processor and puree for 5 seconds.

Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the food processor and puree for 5 more seconds.

Scrape down the sides, add oil and continue to puree.

Repeat scraping and pureeing until the Ginger is finely minced.

Hold in a sealed container and refrigerate to a maximum of 2 days

 

KUNG PAO VEGETABLES

 

RED PEPPERS washed (1/4” x approximately 2” batons): Trim the top (remove the stem) and bottom. Slice top and bottom into ¼” strips. Cut the remaining Pepper in half (remove the seeds). Slice ¼” along the length and then cut the strips in half.

CARROTS (1/16” x approx. 3” batons): Peel Carrots, cut into approx. 3” lengths.

YU CHOY washed (Approximately 2” pieces): Trim and discard the thick woody stocks, cut into 4 sections. Slice the thicker sections at the base in half along the length.   (Image if you need it below)

KING OYSTER MUSHROOMS (1/4” x approximately 2” Batons): Cut at the base of the head and at the woody root end.  Discard the root end.  Slice the head into ¼” slices.  Slice the body into ¼” planks. Then slice the planks into ¼” strips.  Then cut the long strips in half.

KUNG PAO VEGETABLES

1 Portion	10 Portions	INGREDIENTS
1.5 oz	15 oz	Red Pepper washed (¼” x approximately 2” Batons)
1.5 oz	15 oz	Carrots Peeled (1/16” x approximately 3” Batons)
1.5 oz	15 oz	Yu Choy washed (approximately 2” pieces)
1.2 oz	12 oz	King Oyster Mushrooms (¼” x approximately 2” Batons)

Chef David Wong; Home town Vancouver, originally from Nanaimo, BC

Chef David Wong works full time in the Earls Restaurant Test Kitchen. He is an award winning chef from Vancouver, most recently as Executive Chef of the Fairmont Pacific Rim and the award winning restaurant ORU. Dave has too many awards and medals to even list but we would say that his Gold Medal win as part of Culinary Team Canada in Basil, Switzerland and representing Canada at the  Bocuse d’Or held in Lyon, France – are two of the most prestigious culinary awards in the world.

David’s culinary skill encompasses a number of Asian cuisines as well as seafood and shellfish. 

Website: Earls Kitchen + Bar