Two more doses of Satay!

After making a plateful of beef and kangkong satay some days ago, I was determined to make several more dishes using the really wonderful spicy and flavorful satay sauce I bought on trip to HK. It was a good thing we had a lot of greens stocked up in our refrigerator!

So I made this dish the same manner I made the satay kangkong, except that I substituted half a head of cabbage and one carrot for one bunch of kangkong. I substituted the beef with some fishballs. I added a few pieces of julienned mushrooms as well. The veggies, especially the carrots made the sauce somewhat sweeter this time, but still spicy anf flavorful nonetheless.

The next day, I sauteed some beef and Taiwanese pechay (choy sum) in satay, adding some carrots and tofu. I watered it down with some beef broth then added some sotanghon (mung bean noodles). The amount of water you put depends on the package instructions. It was again fantastic!

Satay Kangkong

We ate at a Chiu Chow restaurant in Hong Kong and we were served a plateful of beef and broccoli leaves sauteed in satay sauce. The combination worked. I mean, how could you go wrong with broccoli and beef? But I never liked satay that much - perhaps because it tasted as if they toned down the strong flavors of satay with something that resembled oyster sauce or fisch sauce.





Anyway, I bought a bottle of satay while in HKG and brought it home to use. I made my own version, but this time using a bundle of Chinese kangkong (grown on land instead of water - making them more tender).



On a very hot pan, saute a handful of sukiyaki-cut beef that has been marinated in one teaspoon each of soy sauce and cornstarch. Cook until seared but still rare. Set aside.



On the same hot pan, saute a tablespoon each of chopped garlic, ginger and onions. Add one stalk of sliced celery (believe me, the sweetness and fragrance of the celery really complements the spiciness of the satay). Add the kangkong stalks and cook until bright green in color. Add the leaves and the beef.



Add one tablespoon each of satay sauce and oyster sauce. Dilute with water and simmer until kangkong is of desired tenderness.

Taiwanese X.O. Sauce?

VSOP

I have heard of X.O. sauce, which is a spicy blend of dried flaked Chinese ham and scallops. It has a very strong “Chinese-y” flavor, and also very spicy and oily. I have, on occasion ordered dishes flavored with X.O. sauce from several Chinese restaurants but failed to appreciate any flavor other than the soy sauce or garlic! Apparently, local chefs have been instructed to use the said sauce sparingly as it is very strong and at the same time expensive.

Lately at Unimart, I came across a Taiwanese product labeled “VSOP.” It seemed like their version of the Chinese XO sauce. With my limited knowledge of kanji, I know the individual meanings of the first three characters: five – star – up. I take that to mean superior quality. The ingredients listed chili, buccaneer anchovy, shrimp, blackbean, garlic ginger, sugar, rice wine, and soybean oil. I bought a small bottle to try on some stir-fry.

On opening, the bottle contained whole pieces of dried anchovies, dried shrimp and fermented black beans. There were also chili seeds. It wasn’t a paste at all, but a misture of different dried stuff. It was extremely spicy! It wasn’t as salty as I expected, or perhaps the heat numbed my tongue!

For the stir fry, I added some of the VSOP oil onto a non-stick pan. I sautéed some julienned scallions then added some leftover tofu. I added the VSOP “paste” then the handful of bean sprouts. I tossed them for less than a minute before adding a final touch of light soy sauce (around one tablespoon).



I enjoyed this side-dish with some fried stuff! But my mom could not stop coughing because of the chili!