AI-generated image
Stuffed three treasures with fish paste
Jin yeung saam bou (煎釀三寶): green peppers, aubergine and tofu filled with fish paste, pan-fried and sauced
Walk past the street stalls of Mong Kok or Sham Shui Po in the afternoon and you will smell jin yeung saam bou sizzling on wide griddles: chunks of green pepper, aubergine and tofu, each pressed full of bouncy white fish paste and fried until golden, then splashed with a little soy or a glossy oyster sauce gravy. People point at the pieces they want, take them in a paper bowl with a bamboo skewer and eat them while walking; at home they become a side dish with rice. The fish paste should be springy, the vegetables soft, the tofu creamy. The trap is wet vegetables: unless you dust the cut sides with cornflour first, the paste slides straight off in the pan. Chef's tip: slap the fish paste against the bowl for a few minutes; it gets bouncier the more you work it.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the fish paste
- 14 oz white fish filletsskinless and boneless, such as cod, hake or pollock, well chilled
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp cornflour
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp ice-cold water
For the three treasures
- 2 green bell pepperscut into 5 cm pieces, seeds removed
- 1 auberginelong, cut into 1.5 cm slices, each slit like a pocket
- 10 ½ oz firm tofucut into 4 cm squares
- 2 tbsp cornflourfor dusting
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tsp cornflourmixed with 2 tbsp water
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Cut 14 oz white fish fillets into chunks and pulse in a food processor with ¾ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground white pepper until it forms a sticky paste.
Step 2: Add 1 ½ tbsp cornflour, 1 tsp sesame oil and 3 tbsp ice-cold water and pulse until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and slap and stir the paste in one direction for 3 minutes, until it is springy and pulls away from the bowl. Chill while you prepare the vegetables.
3 minStep 3: Scoop a small hollow out of the centre of each tofu square with a teaspoon.
Step 4: Pat 2 green bell peppers, 1 aubergine and 10 ½ oz firm tofu dry and dust the inside of each with 2 tbsp cornflour, tapping off the excess.
Step 5: With a wet knife or spoon, press fish paste into the peppers, into the aubergine pockets and into the tofu hollows, mounding it slightly and smoothing the top.
Step 6: Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the pieces fish side down until the paste is golden and set.
4 minStep 7: Turn and fry the other sides until the vegetables are soft, the tofu is golden and the fish paste is opaque all the way through and firm when pressed.
5 minStep 8: Pour off excess oil. Mix 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar and ¾ cup water, pour into the pan and simmer for 2 minutes, spooning it over.
2 minStep 9: Stir in 1 tsp cornflour and bubble until the sauce turns glossy and coats the pieces. Serve hot.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 27 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does stuffed three treasures with fish paste take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Taiwanese grilled corn
At Raohe and Shilin night markets the grilled-corn stalls are easy to find: look for the queue and the smoky, sweet smell. Cobs are par-cooked, then turned slowly over charcoal while the cook brushes them with a dark glaze of sacha sauce, thick soy paste, garlic and chilli, layer after layer, until the kernels are sticky, slightly charred and deeply savoury. It is eaten hot from a paper sleeve while walking the market. Sacha (shacha) sauce, a Taiwanese barbecue paste, usually contains dried fish and shrimp; vegetarian sacha is sold in Asian shops. Contains soy, wheat and fish. Chef's tip: brush thin coats and turn often; one thick coat burns before the corn chars.
Taiwanese
Masala khakhraCrisp roasted wheat crackers
Khakhra are thin chapaties roasted slowly on a griddle until they turn crisp, like a cracker. This masala version adds gram flour, fresh fenugreek, turmeric and chilli to the wheat dough. They are a light Gujarati breakfast or tea-time snack, and lovely with pickle, chutney or a smear of butter. You can also make them in a roti maker.
Indian
MathiaMoong and urad dal wafers
Mathia are thin, crisp, slightly sweet and peppery wafers made from mathia flour, a mix of ground husked moong and urad dal. They are a classic Gujarati Diwali snack. The dough is pounded until pale, rolled very thin between plastic sheets and fried one at a time. They are fragile, so store them gently. To make mathia flour, finely grind 4 parts husked green gram lentils with 1 part husked black gram lentils.