Tempura Lychee Stuffed With Curried Crabmeat

Adapted from Sensations, by Sam Leong.

Ingredients

1. Oil, for deep-frying
2. Crabmeat, 40g
3. Lychees (fresh/canned), peeled and seeded, 4
4. Cornflour/cornstarch, 20g
5. Onion, peeled and finely julienned, 20g
6. Carrot, peeled and finely julienned, 20g
7. Enokitate mushrooms, 20g
8. Asparagus, finely julienned, 12 spears

Seasoning

1. Chicken stock, 4 tbsp
2. Seafood curry powder, 1/4 tsp
3. Salt, 1/2 tsp
4. Sugar 1/4 tsp
5. Cornflour/cornstarch, 1/4 tsp mixed with water

Batter

1. Plain/all-purpose flour, 60g
2. Wheat flour (high gluten), 15g
3. Baking powder, 10g
4. Custard powder, 3g
5. Water, 30ml
6. Oil, 20ml

Instructions

1. In a pan/wok, heat 1 tbsp oil. 
2. Add crabmeat and seasoning ingredients except cornflour, and mix well.
3. When heated through, stir in cornflour mixture to thicken. 
4. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
5. When cool, refrigerate for 1h until cold.
6. When the crabmeat is chilled, dust the insides of the lychees with cornflour.
7. Stuff them with the chilled crabmeat.
8. Combine ingredients for the batter.
9. Add onion, carrot, mushrooms and asparagus and mix well.
10. Divide the mixture into 4 portions.
11. Heat the oil for deep-frying.
12. Wrap each lychee with a portion of the batter-covered ingredients and deep-fry immediately, until crisp and golden brown.
13. Drain well and serve hot.

Crabmeat Pie

Adapted from Sensations by Sam Leong (Crispy Crabmeat Pastry with Foie Gras Braised in Soy Sauce).

Ingredients

1. Plain/all-purpose flour, 125g
2. 1 egg yolk
3. 1 tsp vegetable shortening
4. Cooking oil, for deep-frying
5. Shallots, chopped, 1 tsp
6. Scallions, chopped, 1 tsp
7. Crabmeat, 85g
8. Leek, chopped, 45g
9. Hard-boiled egg, chopped, 1
10. Salt, 1/4 tsp
11. Sugar, 1/4 tsp 
12. White pepper, 1/4 tsp

Instructions

1. Combine flour, egg yolk and shortening into a dough. 
2. Roll out into a thin sheet, and cut out rounds.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry the shallots until light golden.
4. Drain and combine with remaining ingredients for the filling. 
5. Divide filling into 4 portions.
6. Spoon 1 portion of filling onto the centre of a dough round and cover with another dough round. 
7. Press edges tgt to seal pastry. Repeat to make 4 pastries.
8. Heat the oil for deep-frying and deep-fry the pastries for 2 min, until crisp and golden brown. 
9. Drain pastries well and serve.