The Four Heavenly Kings is actually a popular vegetable dish in Miri. But behind the scene in Miri, the four heavenly kings also refer to the best four chefs of Miri. The list is always changing. One of them, a friend, is now retired. So new name list will be announced every now and then.
In Malaysia, the Four Heavenly Kings are usually brinjal, ladies' fingers, long beans and petai.
You can change any of the vegetables but brinjals to me is a must because they get sticky and form a remarkable jelly for the dish. No corn starch is necessary.
Ladies' fingers also add some stickiness.
I like mine with sweet young corn though if I have a choice of 4.
You can also have a choice, spicy (with lots of dried prawns and chillies), oyster, or garlic.
The secret of the dish - you have to slightly fry each of the four vegetables in hot oil to keep their crunchiness. And then use the aromatics to combine the four together.
I was told the dish is named after the four famous singers of Hong Kong. Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai .
My mother, in her Foochow humour, said, "The dish must have been invented when a chef had only small bits of 4 vegetables left...just stir fry them together and give it a good name...and you have a new dish fit for a king...."
Mum is a sassy grandma.
No comments:
Post a Comment