Stir-Fried Rice Sparrows
A signature Cantonese specialty featuring rice birds with a deep iron-black hue and a sweet-sour-spicy flavor, best enjoyed with lemon.
Ingredients
Cleaned rice sparrows (washed and slightly dried, marinated with scallion, ginger, cooking wine, and salt)
20 g
Lettuce (cut into thin strips for plate base)
260 g
Carrot (cut into thin strips around the plate)
120 g
Lemon (placed on when serving)
half
Vegetable oil (for deep-frying sparrows)
600 g (about 60 g consumed)
Black pepper
a pinch
Sugar
40 g
Cooking wine (for marinating and cooking)
10 g
Soy sauce
8 g
Salt (for marinating and seasoning)
8 g
MSG
5 g
Scallion (for marinating)
a pinch
Ginger (for marinating)
a pinch
Chicken stock (for sauce)
to taste (150 g)
Instructions
1
Marinate the sparrows
First wash the rice sparrows and let them dry slightly, then place them in a bowl and marinate with appropriate amounts of scallion, ginger, cooking wine, and salt.
2
Deep-fry the sparrows
Pour oil into a wok and heat over medium heat until 70-80% hot. Add the marinated sparrows and fry for about 1 minute, then remove and drain the oil.
3
Prepare the sauce
Put the sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, salt, MSG, scallion, and ginger into a bowl, then add 150 g of chicken stock and mix well.
4
Stir-fry
Add the fried sparrows to the wok, stir-fry a few times over high heat, splash in a little cooking wine, then add the mixed sauce and stir-fry until the sauce is dry.
5
Plating
When serving, cut the carrot and lettuce into thin strips and place them on the base and around the plate. Arrange the sparrows in the center with lemon on top, and let guests pour the sauce themselves when eating.
