Chinese Recipe : Braised Eel with Garlic and Turnip

Ingredients:

• 75g Garlic Cloves
• 600g White Eel (white in the front and grey at the back)
• 150g Barbecued Pork Belly (with skin on it, not "cha shiu")
• 6 dried Chinese Black Mushrroms (soaked)
• 4 slices of Ginger
• 1 Red Chili
• a pick of Dried Tangerine Peel
• 230g turnip
• Boiling water for cleaning the eel.

Seasonings:

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp stock
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp wine
• pinch of cornstarch solution

Method:

1. Deep-fry the garlic cloves gently until golden brown. Do not burn them. Set aside.
2. Use some boiling water to pour onto the eel. Then use the knife blade to "scrub" away the sticky film on the eel's skin. Wash thoroughly. Cut the eel into sections. Cut the barbecued pork belly into pieces. Chop turnip into domino-shape. Soak mushrooms till tender and remove the hard stems.
3. Heat the wok and add in 3 Tbsp oil. Fry white eel briefly till browned. Remove and set aside.
4. Heat the wok and add in 2 Tbsp oil. Pour in deep-fried garlic cloves, sliced ginger and chopped red chili. Fry briefly. Add in turnip, dried tangerine peel, Chinese black mushrooms, barbecued pork belly and white eel. Stir in the stock, salt and sugar. Simmer till done and the sauce thickens.
5. Sprinkle over with wine and stir in cornstarch solution. Ready to serve.

Submitted by: Kelly Ho