Mock crab roe

1 batch

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
¼ pounds Fresh filet of sole, plaice (flounder) or cod
6 Egg yolks
2 Level tablespoons chopped spring onions (scallions), white parts only
1 teaspoon Sesame oil
¼ Level teaspoon MSG [optional, as usual. S.C.]
¼ Level teaspoon salt
⅛ Level teaspoon white pepper
Fat for deep-frying
5 tablespoons Soy sauce
3 tablespoons Vinegar

Directions

"When the crab season ended, people were loath to give up the idea of being without crab. The following recipe is an excellent dish, but a poor substitute for the heady concentrate of roe found in the furry- clawed crabs of the Yangtse lakes." Steam the fish for 10 minutes and flake it gently. Mix the egg yolks together with the spring onions, sesame oil, MSG, salt and white pepper. Add the fish and mix it in. Fry tablespoons of the mixture in fairly deep fat, until the sides are almost brown or pinkish gold.

The fat will foam, but this cannot be helped. The final texture must be firm. Serve hot with a separate dish of soy sauce mixed with vinegar. Excellent with warmed wine.

From "Chinese Gastronomy" by Hsiang Ju Lin and Tsuifeng Lin, First Harvest/HBJ, New York, 1977. Introduction by Lin Yutang.

Posted by Stephen Ceideburg; December 20 1990.

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