Ying Yang Fried Rice

With Château de Pierreux Brouilly 2021

This is a nostalgic dish for me. It is shaped like a “ying yang” – a very important concept in Chinese culture and in Taoism.

This dish represents a classic Hong Kong food style – Chinese ingredients and cooking method but fused with Western style sauce. Many Hong Kong chefs back then like to add some “western” cooking elements to invent a new dish. The white sauce is similar to Béchamel sauce whilst the red sauce is similar to the tomato sauce. However, instead of using flour and butter, we use corn starch powder which is the classic thickening ingredients in Hong Kong cooking.

Ying Yang Fried Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients for the red sauce:

• 1 onion, sliced

• 2 large tomatoes, sliced

• 4 boneless chicken thigh fillets, sliced and marinate for at least 15 minutes

• 6 tablespoons of ketchup

• 6 tablespoons of chicken stock

• 1 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons of white sugar

• 1 teaspoon of corn starch powder, blended into 1 tablespoon of cold water

• Salt and pepper

Ingredients for the white sauce:

• 16 peeled frozen prawn, defrosted and pat dry

• 3 tablespoons of frozen peas, defrosted and pat dry

• 200 ml of milk

• 100 ml of chicken stock

• 1 teaspoon of corn starch powder, blended into 1 tablespoon of cold water

• Salt and pepper

Ingredients for the fried rice base:

• 2 gloves of garlics, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon of ginger, finely chopped

• 3 large eggs, beaten

• 4 bowls of cold overnight jasmine rice

• Salt and pepper

Ingredients for the chicken marinades:

• 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon of white sugar

• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil

• Salt and pepper

Methods:

Fried rice base:

1. Heat a non-stick wok to medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Put the tip of a chopstick to taste the temperature. If bubbles form around the tip, it is hot enough. Stir in the garlic and ginger and keep stir frying until the aroma is released

2. Add the cold rice. Spread the rice out by pressing them gently using the back of the spatula (wok chaan). Stir gently to loosen up the rice

3. Once the rice is evenly heated, stir in the beaten egg and stir fry very quickly so that even piece of rice is covered by a thin layer of egg liquid. Keep stir frying until the egg is cooked but not too dry.

4. Lay out the fried rice base into the serving plate. Fold a large sheet of tin foil into an “S” shape, put it to the middle of the rice to form a divider

Red sauce:

1. Heat a non-stick wok to high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil until hot. Do the same chopstick test. Add the sliced onions and stir fry for around 3-5minutes or until the onions are softened

2. Add the chicken slices, spread them out in the wok and let it pan fry for 3-4 minutes or until the edges turn golden. Start stir-frying once the slices turn golden

3. When the chicken is almost cooked, add the tomatoes. Let it stand and caramelise in heat for 2-3minutes before stir-frying

4. Stir-fry until the tomatoes are almost melted into the sauce

5. Add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and sugar, stir until everything is blended evenly. Add the chicken stock

6. When the sauce starts to bubble, add the corn starch liquid little by little. Keep stirring when you add the liquid otherwise crumps will form. Repeat the process until the sauce is thicken but not too pasty

White sauce:

1. Heat a non-stick wok to high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil until hot. Do the chopstick test. Add the prawns and pan fry until golden and half cooked. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the top

2. Add the peas and fry for few minutes

3. Add the milk and chicken stock. Fry them together until bubbles start to form

4. Add the corn starch liquid using the same method as stated in the red sauce

To serve:

1. Pour the red and white sauce onto each side of the rice; remove the foil divider and serve

Tips:

• Make sure you keep stirring when adding the corn starch liquid so that no lumps are formed

• Letting the meat stands in heat without stirring will add colour hence flavour to the food

Wine pairing:

Pairing this dish is not straight forward as it is a 2-in-1 dish with different flavours and texture. The white sauce is creamy with seafood taste whilst the red sauce is sweet and sour. I have chosen a bottle of Beaujolais red wine for this dish. It is an aromatic medium body red. It has strong flavour characteristics of cherry, banana and blackberry jam. It also has hint of herbs and floral notes. Drinking this wine is almost like having a sweet treat but just without the sugar. Acidity is medium high and tannins level is low. With the high acidity, this wine cuts through the thickness of the white sauce but yet blend well with the slightly sweet and sour red sauce. The banana and jam flavours blend well with the sweet red sauce but not too strong that it overwhelms the prawn flavour in the white sauce.