Mabo Royale
By Nate Uri
This recipe for fried kingclip with tofu and pork bean sauce is from Nate Uri, kombucha brewer at Verdant Tea and creator of Hot Date with Nate. The dish was a course in a special dinner Nate prepared at Verdant Tea that featured tea as an ingredient in each course. For the Yunnan White Jasmine tea in this recipe, visit verdanttea.com.
Fried Kingclip in Hot & Spicy Tofu & Pork Bean Sauce
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 cup hot chicken stock
- 2 dried Shiitake mushrooms
- 1 Tablespoon each Miso (Red or White), Tobanjan (Chinese hot chili sauce), White Sugar, and Soy Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Chili Flakes
Proteins & Fats
- Vegetable Oil
- 12oz. Ground Pork
- 8-10oz Kingclip, Halibut, Sea Bass, or Cod in 1 large piece or 2 chunks. Look for a thicker, shorter piece rather than long and thin
- 1 pound Silken Tofu, diced into small cubes
Dredge
- AP Flour seasoned with salt and spread out on a plate
Aromatics & Garnishes
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2-inch piece Fresh Ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 3 Scallions thinly sliced on the bias
- About 2oz. (or a very small cup) Verdant Tea’s Yunnan White Jasmine, steeped strong
- Toasted Sesame oil
Instructions
Servings: 2 to 3
1. Combine hot chicken stock and shiitake mushrooms in bowl and let steep for 30 minutes. When done, remove mushrooms from liquid, dice, and add back to bowl along with the rest of the SAUCE ingredients.
2. Heat a wok or cast iron pan on high and add oil. Right as the oil starts to smoke, add ground pork and brown while breaking up into small chunks. When pork is ready, move over to one side of the pan and add garlic and half of the ginger, frying in oil for 10 to 20 seconds. Stir pork back in, and add sauce bowl contents to pan. Bring to a gentle simmer. Add tofu and gently cover it with sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes and hold on low.
3. In a skillet or wok, heat 1/2 inch of oil on medium high. When oil is just about smoking, dredge fish in seasoned flour, coating evenly on all sides. Carefully lay in oil. Cook 1 minute each side, continuously turning until fish is golden brown and about to flake apart. Remove from heat. Set onto paper towel.
4. Spoon sauce onto a platter, place fish on top and spoon additional sauce over fish. Garnish with ginger and scallions. Drizzle with sesame oil.
5. Bring platter to table along with hot, steeped tea. Pour 1oz. strong Yunnan White Jasmine Tea around plate. Breathe deeply and prepare to have your lights knocked out.
Recipe by Nate Uri of Hot Date With Nate.
Photos by Justin Evidon.
Featured tea: Yunnan White Jasmine tea.
