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Minced Squab With Oyster Sauce
(Hao - Yu - Ke - Sung)
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| What You Need: |
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6 dried oysters
4 dried Chinese mushrooms, 1 to 1½ inches in diameter
¼ cup shelled fresh peas or thoroughly defrosted frozen peas
2 squabs, about 12 ounces each
1 head of lettuce
2 tablespoons peanut oil, or flavorless vegetable oil
1 scallion, including the green top, finely chopped
½ teaspoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger root
¼ cup coarsely chopped canned water chestnuts
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold chicken stock or cold water
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| How To Cook: |
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PREPARE AHEAD:
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1. In a small bowl, cover the dried oysters with ½ cup of warm water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Drain and discard the water. Chop the oysters fine.
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2. In another small bowl, cover the mushrooms with ½ cup of warm water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Then remove them with a slotted spoon, strain the soaking water through a fine sieve and reserve 2 tablespoons of it.
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3. With a cleaver or sharp knife, cut away and discard the tough stems of the mushrooms, and chop the caps fine.
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4. Blanch the freshly shelled peas by dropping them into 2 cups of rapidly boiling water and letting them boil uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender. Then drain and run cold water over them to stop their cooking and set their color. Frozen peas need only be thoroughly defrosted.
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5. With a cleaver or sharp knife, skin the squabs. Cut the meat from the bones and discard the bones. Then finely chop the meat. If you are substituting pork and chicken for the squabs, chop the chicken meat fine and mix it thoroughly with the ground pork.
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6. Separate the lettuce leaves, wash and pat them dry with paper towels. Cut them into 5-inch rounds. Arrange the rounds on a serving plate and refrigerate.
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7. Have the oysters, mushrooms, peas, squabs (or their substitute), and the oil, scallions, ginger, water chestnuts, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and cornstarch mixture within easy reach.
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TO COOK:
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1. Set a 12-inch wok or 10-inch skillet over high heat for 30 seconds. Pour in the 2 tablespoons of oil, swirl it about in the pan and heat for another 30 seconds, turning the heat down to moderate if the oil begins to smoke.
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2. Immediately add the scallions and ginger, cook for a few seconds, then drop in the squab and stir-fry for 1 minute. (If substituting the pork and chicken mixture, stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes).
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3. Add the soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, and then the oysters, mushrooms and water chestnuts. Stir once again and drop in the peas. Then add the mushroom water, stir and cook 1 minute. Give the cornstarch mixture a stir to recombine it and add it to the pan.
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4. Stir constantly until all the ingredients are coated with a light, clear glaze. Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a platter and serve at once accompanied by the lettuce leaves.
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5. Traditionally, each guest spreads a lettuce leaf flat on his plate and places about 2 tablespoonfuls of the squab mixture in the middle of the leaf.
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6. The leaf is folded in half over the minced squab and tucked gently under it; one end of the package is then folded over about 1 inch to enclose the filling securely, and the whole rolled into a neat cylinder that can be picked up with the fingers and eaten.
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To Serve: 2 to 4 as main course or 4 to 6 as Chinese meal
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