Chef Ray Chan · Delicious Cuisine
DELICIOUS CUISINE is a trendy Richmond restaurant in the city centre that’s the epitome of the new contemporary Taiwanese café popping up all over Metro Vancouver. Run by a father-and-son team, the café is known not only for creative bubble teas and other beverages but also for traditional Taiwanese snacks and lunch and dinner dishes as well as for West Coast–influenced fare.
Both the chili bean sauce and kasu are essential seasonings in many Taiwanese and northern Chinese regions. Bean sauce, which is made from fermented soy beans, can be sweet, mild or hot. Kasu, Chinese distilled rice wine lees, is used in soups, entrées and, most commonly, in desserts. Look for it in plastic containers in the cooler section of Asian supermarkets. Serve this dish with bowls of steamed Japanese rice.
2 pink or chum salmon steaks, each 6 oz, skin on
3 Tbsp chili bean sauce
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 slice ginger, skin on
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp Chinese rice wine kasu
1 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tsp black rice vinegar
1 green onion, in ¼-inch dice
USING A SPOON, evenly spread 1 Tbsp chili bean sauce over salmon steaks, coating both sides. Season with black pepper and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
In a wok, heat canola oil on high. Carefully add salmon and brown for 2 minutes, then turn over and sear for another 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fish to a large plate.
To the wok, add ginger, garlic, the remaining 2 Tbsp chili bean sauce and 6 Tbsp water and cook for 10 seconds. Add salmon to wok, cover and cook for 3 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, sugar and kasu until well mixed, then add to the wok. In the same bowl, combine 2 Tbsp water and cornstarch and pour into the wok. Stir in sesame oil, vinegar and green onions and cook until sizzling, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a platter and serve hot, family-style.