Hunan vegetable pie

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
3 Bean curd skin sheets (dried bean curd)
10 smalls Dried shrimp
2 larges Dried black mushrooms (Chinese)
1 (1-in.) piece ginger root
2 Scallions
Oil
1 Winter bamboo shoot
1½ tablespoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon Dry sherry
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Flavor enhancer (opt.)
Black pepper
2 cups Chicken stock
1 cup All-purpose flour
1 Recipe pancakes
1 Recipe sauce
Scallion brushes
Parsley
Decoratively cut radishes
2 cups All-purpose flour, sifted
¾ cup Boiling water
2 tablespoons Sesame or cooking oil
½ cup Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Sesame oil
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Sherry
1 bunch Scallions
Ice water

Directions

GARNISH

PANCAKES

SAUCE

SCALLION BRUSHES

Using wet, hot towels, moisten the bean curd skin sheets and set aside until ready to use. Cover with hot towels to retain the moisture. In separate small bowls, cover the dried shrimp and mushrooms with a little boiling water. When soft, drain and mince finely with a knife or cleaver.

Mince the ginger. Finely chop scallions. In 1 tablespoon oil, stir-fry the minced shrimp, mushrooms and bamboo shoot, adding 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, the sherry, sugar, flavor enhancer and black pep- per to taste.

After a minute, when most of the liquid has evaporated, stir in the scallions and remove the filling to a container to cool.

In a large, flat, rectangular pan, combine chicken stock and remaining soy sauce. Dip a softened bean curd sheet into stock mixture and lay out flat on a work surface. Sprinkle lightly with filling.

Repeat dipping process with a second bean curd sheet, laying it on top of the first and sprinkling it with a little filling. Cover with a third sheet which has been dipped in the stock but do not sprinkle with filling. Make sure all the corners of the bean curd skin package are thoroughly moistened and gently fold into a 7x5-inch shape. Set aside. Make a batter by combining the eggs with a little water and beating. Stirring vigorously, pour the egg mixture into the flour. The resulting batter should have the consistency of heavy cream. Add more water if necessary. Heat oil for deep-frying in a wok to 300 F. Moisten the whole pie with the egg batter and gently slip into the hot oil. Increase the heat and cook, turning occasionally and gently, until the pie is golden brown on both sides.

The pie may form pockets of air in the center and puff up. If this happens while you are cooking it, prick them with the point of a sharp pin. Drain well and cut in 8 to 10 rect- angular pieces. Serve wrapped in a PANCAKE with SAUCE and a SCALLION BRUSH and garnish with parsley and decorative radishes.

PANCAKES: Pour the boiling water into the flour and mix well with chopsticks. Gather the dough into a ball and on a well-floured surface, knead about 10 minutes until dough is smooth and satiny. Set aside, cover with a damp cloth and let rest about 15 minutes. After resting, roll dough into a cylandrical shape about 1-½ inches in diameter. Cut crosswise into 12 rounds. Lightly brush some oil on one side of each piece.

Place two pieces together with the oiled sides together, resembling a little sandwich. Roll each sandwich into a 6 to 7-inch circle. Cook the dough circles one at a time on an ungreased skillet over low heat 1 minute, then turn over. When very lightly browned, remove from heat and carefully separate into individual pancakes. Serve immediately or reheat by heating them over a small quantity of water.

SAUCE: Combine all ingredients and serve as a sauce for the vegetable pie or for Peking Duck.

SCALLION BRUSHES: Trim off root ends of scallions. Cut 2-3-inch pieces off lower white end. Using the point of a small, thin, sharp knife, score the white ends in 1-inch cuts, cutting away from the greens. Evenly space 5-8 cuts a- round the circumference of each stalk, so that the ends may open out. When cut, drop in ice water until the ends curl.

Temperature(s): HOT Effort: DIFFICULT Time: 01:35 Source: UNCLE TAI'S Comments: SOUTH POST OAK, HOUSTON. Comments: WINE| WAN-FU From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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