Chinese Style Pumpkin Fries in Salted Egg Yolk Sauce

Preparation time: 30 minutes

• Peel the pumpkin and cut it into 5 cm x 1 cm sticks. Place them in a deep plate. Sprinkle them with salt and toss them with your hands so that they are evenly coated. Let the pumpkin sticks rest for 15 minutes.
• Steam the salted egg yolks for 10 minutes, until they are cooked. Let them cool, then crush them until they are finely crumbled.
• Drain off the liquid from the salted pumpkin sticks and transfer them into a mixing bowl. Add the corn starch and mix well so that the sticks are completely coated with it.
• Put a few layers of paper towels on a large plate. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, add the coated pumpkin sticks and fry them during 2-3 minutes, until their bottom turns crisp. Flip them and let them cook for another 2-3 minutes, until they turn crispy throughout and are cooked through.
• Turn off the heat and transfer the pumpkin fries on the covered plate to drain the excess oil. Remove the excess oil from the pan and only save 1 tablespoon of it.
• Mince the garlic clove. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and fry it during 30 seconds, until it is fragrant. Add the crumbled salted egg yolks and stir for a few seconds until it is thick and foaming but not browning. Pour in the Shaoxing wine and stir until it has mostly evaporated.
• Add the pumpkin fries back into the pan and sprinkle the sugar over them. Stir for a minute, or until the fries are evenly coated with the egg yolk. Once it is done, immediately transfer them to a clean plate.

The recipe photo serves for illustrative purposes only.