Many recipes call for black beans to be rinsed before using, which seems a shame as it washes away the flavour. Yellow rock sugar is available from Asian grocers, you can substitute castor sugar if it’s unavailable but the flavour won’t be as deep. If you aren’t a fan of too much chilli, reduce the sambal oelek to 1 teaspoon (or leave it out altogether).
INGREDIENTS:
500g Hokkien noodles
¼ cup peanut oil
2 white onions, cut into eighths and separated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons sambal oelek (see notes)
2 tablespoons salted black beans
1 red capsicum, seeded and cut into large squares
600g Ling fillets, skin off, bones removed, cut into large chunks
100g shiitake, halved (see notes)
Stir-fry Sauce
¼ cup light soy sauce
¼ cup oyster sauce
½ cup chicken stock
¼ cup ShaoxingShaoxing (see notes)
1 teaspoon pounded yellow rock sugar (see above)
METHOD:
Make Stir-fry Sauce: combine all ingredients and set aside.
Blanch noodles in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Heat a wok over a high heat, add oil, then onion and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until it starts to colour. Add garlic, ginger, sambal oelek, black beans and capsicum and stir to combine. Add ling and shiitake and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, tossing well so that all of the fish comes into contact with the wok. Add Stir-fry Sauce and noodles and toss in the wok for another minute.
Using a slotted spoon or spider, scoop out the fish, noodles and vegetables and place in a serving bowl.
Boil sauce vigorously for a minute or 2, until slightly thickened, pour over noodles and serve immediately.
NOTES:
Sambal oelek is an Asian paste of salt and chillies, a quick way to get a chilli kick into any dish, not just Asian ones; substitute 1 small red chilli finely chopped if you prefer.
Shiitake are Asian mushrooms available fresh from many fruit and vegetable shops; if they are unavailable use oyster mushrooms.
Shaoxing is Chinese rice wine, available from Asian grocery stores.
ALTERNATIVE SPECIES:
Blue Cod, Blue-Eye Trevalla, Leatherjacket.