• 1½ lb raw fish cake
• 3-4 medium green bell peppers
• ½ cup finely minced cilantro
• Fresh garlic, minced; as many cloves you like
• ½ teaspoon cooking oil (peanut [preferred], vegetable, or corn)
• 3 tablespoon cooking oil (less if non-stick pan is used, but enough to fry minced garlic)
• Salt & white-pepper to taste

 Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon fermented black bean (Koon Chun brand works)
• 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch
• ¾ cup chicken stock

 Garnish

• ¼ cup minced fresh scallions (a.k.a. green onions)
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• Sesame oil to taste

 Settin’ Up:

1. Rinse & Spin: Wash bell peppers under cold water, dry; then cut to remove seed core and then quarter cut into 8 ‘pockets’.  Soak and rinse cilantro to remove silt, dry; then cut about 2 inch from root; minced
2. Mix:  fold cilantro and ½ teaspoon peanut oil into raw fish cake thoroughly; salt and pepper to taste;
3. Fill bell peppers with fish cake mixture
4. Mix cornstarch, oyster sauce, sesame oil (few drops) and chicken stock

 Let’s Get Cookin’:

1. Heat skillet to medium, add cooking oil; stir fry garlic to season the oil !
2. Pan fry stuff peppers fish cake side-down; keep pan at low-medium setting; partially cook for 3-4 minutes, then reserve.
3. Add 1 teaspoon cooking oil, stir fry black bean and garlic
4. Pour in sauce mix, bring to boil; keep stirring to avoid clumping; lower heat to medium high
5. Add peppers fish cake side down; cook for another 2 minutes; peppers are hearty vegetables and will be al dente’
6. Serve immediately with rice, garnish with minced cilantro and scallions

Things to remember:

• Don’t let the pan smoke, the oil is burning
• Stir up the cornstarch oyster sauce mixture, the cornstarch tends to settle.
• Dry! Keep the ingredients dry ahead otherwise the extra moisture changes the recipe (peppers could loosen)
• Over-cooking peppers will result in peppers floating off.
• Cooking time increases as the amount of fish cake is packed into the pepper

  Variations:

1. Dim sum magic: use small peppers and watch ‘em disappear before your eyes!
2. Substitute Bell Peppers with Hot Italian Peppers, Bittermelon, Firm Tofu, or Japanese eggplant
3. Add to fishcake: (some or all) ground pork, dried shrimp, fresh shrimp, and waterchestnuts; extra cooking time required for the pork!
4. Substitute fish cake with ground pork & minced shrimp; extra cooking time required for pork!

 Recipe History:

I learned cooking by watching my parents, particularly my father.  My Dad, Shui Ming Tsang, served as the cook of merchant vessels; he also served as a cook in the US Army during WWII.  He worked in Chinese restaurants as a cook and later as a waiter.  As a child growing up, I would see him make many dishes from soups to pastries to preserved meats.  I would see his attention to detail, things I would take for granted until I tried to replicate his recipes.  He would fillet Spanish King Mackerel and patiently scrape the meat off with a spoon.  Before Cuisinart and blenders, my Dad would use a pair of Chinese cleavers and mince the fish meat into fish cake.  A lot of work but well worth the results.  The pulverized fish would be enhanced with cilantro, a very fragrant herb to ward off the "fishiness."   The fish cake recipe is versatile; one could make fish balls, egg-dipped pan-fried fish cake, and stuffed vegetables like peppers and bittermelon.