Kung Pao Fish

The Valentine’s day dinner at the Hotel Le Royal Meridien this year will definitely be a memorable evening for both of us. The Candle-lit tables with heart-shaped arrangements of bright red roses everywhere with lovely music and delicious food made it a perfect date. But there was one dish amongst a huge buffet spread that made us go for it again and again, " Kung Pao Yee". Being a curious cook, I just had to walk to the Chef and ask for the recipe and he immediately gave a hand-written note of the recipe. Now, I share it with you.

Ingredients

Fish [ boneless] - 500 gm ; cubed or sliced.

Spring Onions - ½ cup(finely chopped)

Celery - ½ cup(finely chopped)

Capsicum - 1 (cut into medium sized pieces)

Ginger - 1 tsp. (finely chopped)

Garlic - 1 tsp.(finely chopped)

Chilli Paste - 2 - 3 tbsp (adjust according to your spice level)

Soya sauce - 2 tsp.

Vinegar - 2 tsp.

Dried Red Chillies - a few

Fried Cashew nuts - a handful.

To Marinate the Fish.

Egg - 1

Flour - 1 tsp.

Corn Flour - 1 tsp.(optional).

Fish Fry Masala/ Chilli Powder - 2-3 tbsp.

Aji-no-motto - 1 or 2 tsp.

Sugar - 1 tsp or less. ( just a pinch of sugar would do).

Salt - to taste.

　

Method

1. Marinate the fish after adding all the Ingredients mentioned for 30 - 45 min.
2. After the Fish is marinated, deep fry the fish cubes, pat excess oil and keep it aside.
3. Heat the wok and add 2 tbsp of oil.
4. Add the chopped celery, shallots, capsicum, red chillies, ginger, garlic and sauté.
5. Ad the Chilli paste, soya sauce, salt, aijinomotto, sugar, vinegar and saute.
6. Add the Fried Fish and Cashews and saute again for 2 minutes.
7. Serve and eat Hot.

Note : This dish could also be made with tofu or paneer or chicken.

Learn from my mistakes!

• Do not marinate the Fish for a very long time. The Fish could become rough. The moisture of the fish should be retained.
• Adding a lot of soya sauce makes the dish bitter or sour.Dont overcook the vegetables.