Vicky Cheng’s Taiwanese Tomato Dish

For the Garlic and Ginger Ikura

Ingredients

• 1kg ikura
• 30g grated garlic
• 30g grated ginger
• 30g extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Sweat the grated garlic and ginger with the olive oil in a small sautée pan over low heat.
2. Cook for 8 minutes and then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
3. Once cool, mix it with the ikura in a mixing bowl.
4. Leave to infuse overnight and then reserve for later use.

For the Escabeche Baby Kuruma Shrimp

Ingredients

• 3kg baby Kuruma shrimp (pre-cooked)
• 50g extra virgin olive oil
• 20g garlic
• 50g white scallion
• 30g ginger
• 200g Japanese rice vinegar
• 100g Kikoman soy sauce
• 40g white soy
• 30g honey

Method

1. Chop the garlic, white scallion and ginger.
2. Sweat the chopped scallion with the olive oil the olive oil in a sautée pan over low heat until translucent, then add the garlic and ginger, frying for another 8 minutes until cooked.
3. Add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, white soy and honey and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
4. Add the pre-cooked shrimp to the liquid, leave to cool and then cover and store in the fridge to marinate for at least 12 hours.

For the Semi-Dried Taiwanese Tomato

Ingredients

• 1kg Taiwanese tomato
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Method

1.  Blanch the Taiwanese tomato in boiling water for about 5 seconds using small batches each time.
2. Peel the skin off the tomatoes and discard.
3. Place the tomatoes in a mixing bowl, drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Transfer to a baking sheet and dehydrate in the oven at 65 degrees for 6 hours.
5. Once dehydrated, let cool and reserve for later use.

For the Tomato Water

Ingredients

• 5kg tomatoes
• 17.5g garlic
• 229g banana shallot
• 28.7g ginger
• 45g Thai basil
• 5.6g thyme
• 11g Tabasco
• 45g salt
• 60g sugar

Method

1. Cut the tomatoes into big chunks and place into a mixing bowl.
2. Roughly chop all the aromatics and place in a separate mixing bowl with the herbs, Tabasco, salt and sugar.
3. Blend the aromatics mixture with the tomatoes using a thermomix at speed number 5 for about 8-10 seconds each time. The mixture should be coarse and not fine.
4. Once blended, leave the mixture to infuse for about 30 minutes.
5. Ready a full hotel pan and a strainer almost the same size as the hotel pan.
6. Place some wet cheesecloth on the tray and pour the tomato liquid through the sieve and allow it to drip through the cloth to give a fine and smooth tomato water.
7. Allow the mixture to strain for about 3 hours, until no more water is dripping from the tomato.
8. Taste and see if further seasoning is needed, then reserve.

For the Lemon Balm Oil

Ingredients

• 1kg lemon balm
• 2.5kg grapeseed oil

Method

1. Pick all the leaves off the lemon balm and discard the stems.
2. Blanch the leaves in boiling water and then transfer into an ice bath.
3. Strain the leaves and pat dry with kitchen paper towel.
4. Roughly chop the lemon balm leaves and place into a vitamix blender with the grapeseed oil.
5. Blend until the oil turns into a nice dark green color.
6. Transfer into a hotel pan and let it infuse overnight.
7. Strain the lemon balm oil with cheesecloth and reserve.

For the Semi-Frozen Tomato Foam

Ingredients

• 1kg tomato water (from above)
• 6 sheets gelatin

Method

1. Bloom the gelatin sheets in a ice bath, wait until it softens and then squeeze out all the water.
2. Place 1 cup of tomato water in a pan on low heat, and melt the bloomed gelatin in the tomato water.
3. Add the tomato water gelatin mixture into the rest of the tomato water.
4. Place the tomato water into a siphon gun and charge it twice with gas.
5. Store in the fridge for 3 hours before using.

Recipe Courtesy of Vicky Chen of Michelin-starred VEA in Hong Kong.

Vicky Chen Chef Feature.