I also like serving this dish because it gives me the opportunity to serve my family dragon fruit, the tangy, brightly-colored fruit that is a cross between a kiwi and pear. Dragon fruit is so popular in Taiwan that diabetics use it as a food substitute for rice. In this dish, it plays dual roles of distinctive garnish and fresh salad ingredient.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Langostino (frozen and cooked), approximately 12 ounces
• 1 bag bamboo shoots, sliced into fine strips
• Optional – 3 Tbs spoons capelin roe (masago). Be sure to save a tablespoon of this for garnish
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, cut into pieces of nearly 1 inch each
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1/8 tsp white pepper or seafood seasoning
• pinch of salt, to taste
• Dragonfruit or kiwifruit for garnish

Instructions:

1. Prepare langostino as indicated on the package. Usually you can just defrost and use langostino immediately. Sometimes I also immerse the langostino into boiling water for about 15 seconds, rinse with cold water and wipe the pieces dry with a paper towel.
2. Mix langostino with all of the other ingredients in a bowl.
3. Place the mixture on a large big plate and decorate with slices dragon fruit or kiwi and garnish with capelin roe. Makes 8-10 servings.

Where can I get the Langostino and bamboo shoots?

Langostino can be purchased at Trader Joe’s in 12-ounce packages or from Costco. Bamboo shoots can be purchased at any Asian supermarket.  The shoots come with vacuum-packed in the vegetable section or ice-packed in the frozen section.

What is capelin roe?

Capelin roe is one of the ingredients of making sushi. You may recognize it as the tiny orange roe commonly seen in sushi rolls.

Photo courtesy of Quinn Dmbrowski

Ingredients:

• 20 pieces medium-large shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 2 pieces calamari steak, cut into strips
• 1 cup fresh scallops
• 2 packs udon*
• 2 romaine hearts, cut into chunks
• 2 tomatoes, sliced into wedges (optional)
• Shredded green onion, to taste

Seasonings:

• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp cooking wine
• Black pepper, to taste
• Cooking oil
• Seasame dressing (or any salad dressing you prefer), to taste

Instructions:

1. Separately marinate shrimp, calamari strips and scallops in cooking wine with a pinch of salt.
2. Cook udon as indicated by the instructions on the package.
3. Heat one tablespoon of oil over medium-high in a skillet. Pan fry both sides of the shrimp, the calamari strips and the scallops separately until the pieces turn light golden brown. Sprinkle black pepper to taste and set aside.
4. Place cooked udon first in a large salad bowl. Next, place romaine chunks over udon. Then place all the pieces of cooked seafood on the top of romaine.
5. Decorate the salad with sliced tomato wedges and garnish with shredded green onion.
6. Serve with dressing. Makes 6-8 servings.

What is udon, and where can I get it?

Udon are pencil-thick Japanese-style noodles. Note that each package of udon usually contains 5 small packs. This recipe calls for two udon packs. You can buy udon either fresh or frozen from Asian grocery stores; for fresh udon, check in the refrigerated shelves next to the dumpling skins and other noodles. Here is a package of udon:

Seafood often takes the spotlight in Taiwanese cuisine, since the coast is never far from any spot on the island. Taiwanese stir fried dishes are light and mild in flavor, which accentuates the freshness of ingredients like the shrimp used in this dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4-5 large eggs, beaten
• ½ cup green onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp. tapioca starch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. cooking wine
• Cooking oil
• Salt, to taste

Procedure:

1. Marinate the shrimp with 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of cooking wine for 10 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and stir fry until 80% cooked. Remove and place shrimp in the mixture of beaten eggs.
3. Add to the mixture the following: 1/4 teaspoon of salt, along with the starch-water mixture and green onions.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high in the same pan and pour the mixture into pan. Gently stir fry the contents of the pan until the eggs are firm and soft. This dish is best served piping hot.

How do you devein shrimp?

I usually cut a line on the back of the shrimp with a knife and remove the black vein.  The cut will help the shrimp more plump and flavorful as it cooks.

How can I tell whether the shrimp and eggs have been cooked long enough?

In preparing this recipe, it is better to undercook than to overcook, since an undercooked pan of eggs and shrimp can be heated again until ready. If the shrimp and eggs taste dry or tough, they may have been cooked for too long.

Oyster may seem like an unusual ingredient for an omelette, but the addition of seafood and Asian starches transforms this classic brunch staple into a distinctly Taiwanese dish.

Ingredients:

• 3-3.5 oz frozen medium-sized oysters
  

  Note: Frozen oysters are generally sold in 10-ounce bags. Defrost a bag of oysters, then wash and divide the contents of the bag into 3 equal portions of approximately 3-3.5 oz each. Each portion will be used to make a single omelette. Each bag of frozen oysters will yield three platters of omelettes.

• 2 heaping Tbsp sweet potato starch
• 1 heaping Tbsp tapioca starch
• ½ cup cold water
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp green onions diced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 cup green leafy vegetables, cut into small pieces. Note: avoid using lettuce
• 1 egg

Instructions:

1. Add the oysters to a mixing bowl, along with all ingredients except for the oil, egg and vegetables. Mix gently until the dry ingredients are absorbed.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Pour the oyster mixture into the skillet and spread it out evenly to cover the bottom of the skillet. Arrange the vegetables on the top of this mixture as it cooks.
4. Maintain the temperature for about 3 to 4 minutes, cooking the omelette until the underside turns light golden brown.
5. Fold the omelette in half, exposing half of the skillet, and crack the egg over the this side. Lightly stir the egg yolk, then unfold the omelette onto the egg. Pan fry for approximately 2 minutes over medium heat.
6. After the egg turns light brown, flip the omelette over so that the egg side is facing up. Cook for another 2 minutes until the omelette is done.
7. If desired, serve on a plate with sweet chili sauce.

Do I have the right kind of oysters?

As mentioned earlier, frozen oysters are generally sold in 10-ounce bags and look like this. You can substitute fresh oysters for frozen oysters if they are available .

What does a package of sweet potato starch look like?

If you’re perusing the aisles of an Asian grocery store and can’t find dry goods labeled in English, look for a package of powder with a picture of potato on it. Chances are, this is the packet of sweet potato starch needed for this recipe.

What about tapioca starch?

Tapioca starch, which is very fine powder derived from the cassava root, is great to have in the kitchen as a general substitute for corn starch.

The omelette falls apart when I fold it in half. What am I doing wrong?

The challenge of this recipe is getting the omelette to stay together, and you probably will not succeed on the first try because the omelette is soft and sticky. With practice and a few more tries, you will become an expert at getting the omelette to cook evenly and stay in one piece. Worth noting: the egg is what helps hold the omelette together and makes it easier to flip it over so you can cook both sides.

What kind of sauces can be paired with the omelette?

I recommend sweet chili sauce or, if you prefer a mildly spicy taste, Chung-Tzyy (Chinese rice dumpling) sauce. If you prefer your food salty but not spicy, you can also use soy paste.