Tiger Lily Buds And Edamame Stir-fry

You have seen and eaten these in Hot and Sour Soups, and perhaps a couple of Moo Shu dishes. Traditionally, these exotic lily buds are woodsy tiger lilies, and they are actually unopened yellow day lily flowers. Because of its bright golden color when it is raw, lily buds are known as "Gum Jum" in Cantonese, which translates to "Golden Needle". At the Asian grocery market, look in the dry foods section where they are packed in plastic baggies and appear slightly pale yellow in color. Dried lily buds are mainly used in authentic chinese stir-fries, soups and hot pots aka fondues. In the chinese tradition, tiger lily flowers also represent "wealth", and you will see loads of it added to Chinese New Year vegetarian dishes such as Buddha's Feast. They are also great when paired up with any recipe that calls for shitake mushroom or wood ear mushroom, such as my Clay Pot Chicken recipe.

It's a pleasure munching these long, slender, needly flowers. Crunchy in texture when cooked, these tiger lilies lend a light earthy flavor as opposed to the heavier flavored chinese mushroom and portabello mushroom. I don't think I have seen any fresh golden petals like I used to when I was back home. I remember picking them out from my bowl of glass noodles when I was a kid, and crunching each lily flower bud before slurping my noodles.

I couldn't think of anything more light and pleasant to go along with my lily flower stir fry recipe than edamame beans. I love edamame bean pods steamed, eaten cold or hot, but I tend to get lazy with the peeling part, not to mention the messiness of the juice squirting all over. That's why I bought some frozen prepacked ones that is conveniently available all year round at the Asian grocery frozen section. Edamame beans have a cross taste between a regular green pea and a chinese broad bean, slightly crunchy, and easier on the bean taste. I think this would fit well in my second submission to the Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen :)

Here it is. A quick, no brainer recipe - lily buds stir fry with edamame soy beans and shrimp. This, I have to say, is yet another great addition to my spring and summer stir fry or salad medleys that I enjoy !

Tiger Lily Buds And Edamame Stir-fry Recipe

Ingredients :
1/2 cup dried lily buds ( soaked in water, washed and rinsed )
1 cup frozen edamame beans ( de-shelled )
4 peeled shrimp
1 tbsp oyster sauce
white pepper
sesame oil
mirin wine

Method :

1) Pan fry the shrimp until slightly browned. Add the edamame beans and lily buds, stir-fry, toss and turn for 1 minute.

2) Dash in sesame oil, white pepper, oyster sauce, and a splash of mirin wine. Continue stir-frying for about 3 minutes.

Colt-en Shrimp Fritters

So, how do you like your shrimp fritters ? What is your secret technique for a mouth-watering recipe ? Mine would actually be the hybrid of the traditional Malaysian all time favorite shrimp fritters, known as "Cucur Udang" and the Indian "Vada".

I was actually thinking of just fixing the Malaysian Cucur Udang, which is a concoction of shrimp, fresh cut green chilis, bean sprouts, and chopped green onions mixed in a plain floured fluffy batter and deep-fried to a crunchy perfection. But then I was also craving for some of Asha's assortment of winter munchies, especially the variety of vadas and pakoras recipes.

So basically all I did was substitute the vegetables from the Cucur Udang recipe with "chana dal" flour, aka yellow gram flour, slap a fancy Super Bowl related name to it and voila! The "Colt"-en Shrimp Fritter is born.

When preparing the batter, make sure it is not runny, otherwise it won't stick to the shrimp when you deep fry the fritters. The batter should be stirred to a smoothly thickened grits-like texture when they go into the fryer. That way, the fritters will be crunchy on the outside, and a tad soft on the inside. I also quick-freeze it for 15 minutes before frying to keep the fritter in shape. Also, make sure the oil is on medium heat, as they can get "burnt" quite easily.

Shrimp Fritter Recipe

Ingredients :
16 shrimps ( I used white ecuador shrimps here, size 26/30, peeled and deveined, leave the tail on )
200 gm chana dal flour ( lentil/yellow gram flour )
30 gm rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tbsp sliced serrano chilis
1 tbsp chopped red bell peppers
1 tbsp chopped green onions
1 tbsp chopped cilantros
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp chana dal split peas ( soaked and softened )
salt to taste
210 ml water

Method :

1) In a bowl, mix all the ingredients until batter form a paste-like mixture, and let chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
2) Remove batter from the refrigerator, dip the shrimp into the batter, deep fry at high-medium heat until golden brown.

Egg Tofu Scallopini

I'm a big fan of beancurd, also known as "tofu". You can find them in a various textures in any Asian grocery stores today. There is the run-of-the-mill firm white tofu for deep frying or stuffing with fillingss; the soft, silken ones for soups or stewing; the 5-spice and cured white ones for salads and stir frying; and last but not least, the thin sheet kind for wrapping deep fried vietnamese shrimp patties. Today, I am going to share my favorite kind with you - the Japanese Egg Tofu . These are vacuum- packed in plastic tubes, medium-soft textured, and the color is slightly off-white. It turns a mild shade of yellow when cooked and has an eggy taste to it as it melts in your mouth. For those living in the Los Angeles area, you can only find this delicious egg tofu at the Hawaii Supermarket in Monterey Park.

I have never lost my craving for egg tofu ever since I moved to the States, and it was pure joy when I rediscovered them. Mom used to buy them for me almost every other week at the wet markets back home. They come in chicken, shrimp, and egg flavor. Actually, you can even mold them by mashing regular tofu with eggs or other ingredients to your liking, steam them and store them in the fridge to pan fry or cook any way you want it later. Trust me, it is worth the hassle if you're a tofu lover like me and want to try a different style of preparation. The "99 Ranch" Asian grocery stores around Los Angeles also carry a similar kind. But they are simply plain white tofu in a tube, not the eggy kind that I have liked from young.

Without further ado, here is how I prepared my quick meal using egg tofu. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

Sizzling Egg Tofu Recipe

Ingredients :
2 tubes of egg tofu
10 peeled shrimp
handful of bay scallops
minced chicken breast ( OR any other meats )
chopped green onions
shaoxing wine ( OR any other cooking wine )
white pepper
sesame oil
1 tbsp Poloku seasoning ( is a all 100% mushroom and vegetable seasoning, you can substitute this with your choice of brown sauce, ie. oyster sauce )
salt to taste
10 oz water
cornstarch solution

Method :
1) Cut the tofu in one inch slices and pan fry both sides until lightly brown, then set aside.
2) Sautee the green onions, scallops, shrimp and minced meat.
3) Add a dash of white pepper, a splash of cooking wine, and water.
4) Mix in the mushroom seasoning, sesame oil, and salt to taste.
5) Stir in the cornstarch solution, cook to a boil, simmer for a minute or so.
6) Pour gravy over tofu.

And there you have it, a yummylicious dish of sizzling egg tofu on the wok. Optionally, you can also stir in an egg into the gravy as it is boiling for that extra OOMPH :P

Shrimps Stir-fry With Curry Leaves : Spice it up !

I like stir-fries of all sorts. Chinese stir-frys have their added sauces and thickeners with some light aromatics, and on the other hand, Indian stir-fries have their garam masalas and other delicate spices. Inspired by Rasa Malaysia's Butter Prawns, Malaysia style, I've decided to give this highly aromatic curry leaves a little personality of my own - Stir fry fresh water shrimps with tumeric spice, tamarind concentrate and curry leaves.

As the name suggests, the curry leaves actually smells like curry, BUT they are not an ingredient in curry powder, which is a multi spice blend. This fresh leaves are usually sold on the stem - strip the leaves and use them sparingly as they are highly aromatic. You can store the rest in a zip-lock bag and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks OR keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months or so. I chose to use tumeric because it lends a great flavor to any shellfish, it takes a shorter cooking time, and its a great warming spice for this cold winter day. Tamarind concentrate can be found in a plastic jar at any Asian grocery market in the cans/sauces aisle. Not only I can use this for any spicy-hot-and-sour soups, mixed in any kind of chili paste to call it my own, I can also make some refreshing tamarind juice with crushed ice when summer time comes. Blend in some tamarind concentrate to this stir fry and you will develop a soury tangy flavor at its final taste.

Once again, I would like to thank Rasa Malaysia for inspiring me to use curry leaves to spice up this shrimp dish !! Do check out her Butter Prawns & my Masala Tumeric Squid With Coconut Cream featured there.

Stir Fry Shrimps With Curry Leaves Recipe

Ingredients :
6 fresh water shrimps ( OR other seafood of your choice, shell-on shrimps, peeled shrimps, etc )
3 stems curry leaves
2 tsp tamarind concentrate
tumeric powder ( use to season the shrimps, and set aside )
chopped garlic
sliced oinion
salt and sugar to taste

Method :

1) Heat 3 tbsp oil in the preheated pan, stir fry your aromatics - garlic, onions, curry leaves.
2) Add in the seasoned shrimps, pan fry on both sides until slightly browned.
3) Add the tamarind concentrate in, salt, and sugar to taste, tossing and turning, stirring constantly until all ingredients are well mixed for 1 minute.
4) Add a little water to prevent sticking onto the bottom of the pan, cover and simmer on low heat for another 2 minutes. Dish up and ready to serve.

Curry leaves other uses : Stir fry curry leaves in cooking oil, keep the fragrant oil to "spice" up your salads, sandwiches, use them to marinade meats for BBQ, OR other stir-fries.