Martin Yan Recipe: Dragon & Phoenix in a Basket

Martin Yan Recipe: Dragon & Phoenix in a Basket

Martin Yan is back! I mean back on Asian Food Channel (AFC) and AFC will be premiering a new original production, True Passion – Martin Yan on Wednesday, 13^th July at 8.30pm, Astro Channel 703. It will be an exciting eight part series with the partnership production between AFC and Jacob’s Creeks wines that include a Chinese New Year special and features world-renowned chef, Martin Yan.

I am lucky enough to have the preview and to “smuggle” out a few recipes from the show. This is one of the recipes, the Dragon & Phoenix in a Basket. From the recipe, this is not the ordinary “Dragon & Phoenix in a Basket”, this is more fusion.

Ingredients

For Main Ingredients

½ pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch lengths

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp white pepper

¾ pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½-inch diamonds

10 straw mushrooms

2 green onions, finely chopped

¾ cup chicken broth

3 tbsp oyster-flavoured sauce

1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp water

¼ cup Thai basil leaves

For Edible baskets (See recipe below)

For Edible Basket

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

1 medium potato or taro root, peeled and finely shredded (fresh egg noodles, cooked and drained, can

also be used)

1 tsp cornstarch

Cooking Method

1. Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add the asparagus to the boiling water. Cook for around 2 minutes until tender-crisp. Drain the asparagus and set aside.

2. Cut chicken into ½-inch cubes. Combine the soy sauce, wine and pepper in a bowl. Add chicken to the marinade and stir to coat. Set the chicken aside and let it marinade for 15 minutes.


3. Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add oil to the wok and swirl to coat the sides of the wok. Add garlic and cook, stirring for about 10 seconds until fragrant. Add the chicken, red bell pepper, mushrooms and green onions. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.

4. Add broth and oyster-flavoured sauce to the wok and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch solution and stir until sauce boils and thickens. Add asparagus and basil and toss to mix.

5. Spoon chicken mixture into basket.

6. To make edible basket: in a wok, heat cooking oil for deep-frying to 180ºC.

7. Rinse shredded potato under cold running water and squeeze well to remove as much moisture as possible. Pat dry with paper towels, the toss dried potato with one teaspoon cornstarch.

8. Dip strainers into the hot oil to coat them. Line one strainer with potato to a thickness of about ⅜-inch. Press the second strainer on top of potato shreds and immerse strainers in oil. Deep-fry until golden brown. Remove potato basket from strainers and drain on paper towels.


9. Fill basket with cooked food and serve immediately.


 

I hope with this recipe, you can try to cook this. Please do remember to check out True Passion – Martin Yan on Wednesday, 13^th July at 8.30pm, Astro Channel 703. Have fun cooking!

Wilson Ng