Once a week I employ the cleaning services of a wonderful Chinese woman, Lily. Like me, she loves food. From time to time she brings me yummy Chinese delicacies, such as a soupy fermented rice dessert (deliciously refreshing in summer). I respond in kind with Kiwi delicacies, such as mince. Lucky Lily.
She has a prolific choko vine and, like most choko vine owners, takes any opportunity to offload its multitudinous offspring onto unsuspecting victims. Be warned, accepting the offer of "some chokos" is likely to result in a fridge-filling gift along these lines:
Chokos are, Lily informs me, wonderful when cooked Sichuan style with chicken. Here's her recipe (I'd imagine these quantities are sufficient for two people):
Lily's Sichuan style chicken and choko
1 dsp Sichuan peppercorns
1 tbsp Sichuan chilli broad bean paste
Chicken wings
Peeled, diced choko
Salt, to taste.
Heat oil. I'm not sure how much - maybe half a cup?
Add Sichuan peppercorns and fry a little. Then add bean paste and fry 1-2 minutes, until the oil is red.
Add chicken wings and stir-fry about 20 minutes, or until nearly done. Add a little water if it's drying out too much.
Add diced choko and cook until ready. Add salt to taste.
I got her to write the name of the broadbean paste in Chinese, which was a good idea because I'd never have found it in my local Chinese supermarket otherwise. Here's what to look for (the brand is Pixian):
I couldn't face the thought of anything sandwichy or ricey for lunch today, so decided to give Lily's recipe a go. Not wanting to spend 20 minutes frying chicken wings, I bought a fillet of lemon fish (aka Shark) and used that instead (adding it after the choko).
I wasn't entirely sure how much of the hot, salty broadbean paste to use, so erred on the side of caution. Note to self: next time amp it up with more Sichuan peppercorns and broadbean paste.
I also added some soaked rice vermacelli 'cause I like my carbs! The resulting lunch was lovely and I'll cook it again.
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