Recipe: Coda's Quail (or Duck) Sang Choi Bao

This month we’re highlighting our 2018 Lenswood Vineyard Pinot Noir and pairing it to a tasty dish from one of our long-time favourite Melbourne dining establishments, Coda Bar & Restaurant. Coda has been a Melbourne laneway institution since it came on to the scene over ten years ago. The Sang Choi Bao has been on the menu since day one, in the form of Quail or Duck. You can interchange the protein as you wish.

This dish is packed with flavour and juiciness, with sweetness from the Chinese sausage, gaminess and umami flavours from the meat and mushrooms and some saltiness that is courtesy of the dressing. It screams for good Pinot Noir.

Our 2018 Lenswood Vineyard, only the second release of this wine, provides this; with powerful aromatics and fragrance that is loaded with red fruits, florals and spice. The palate has impressive volume, fruit sweetness and tannin, whilst showing softness, restraint and delicacy. The red fruit and sweet spice flavour profile and mid-weight flavour intensity will pair perfectly with this dish.

Quail (or Duck) Lettuce Delight with lup cheong, shitake mushroom, coriander and water chestnuts

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

6 iceberg lettuce leaves, trimmed to form cups
1 lup cheong Chinese sausage, finely diced in to tiny cubes
4 spring onions, sliced into rounds
1 brown onion, finely diced
4 dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated
6 water chestnuts, finely diced
10 sprigs coriander, picked and washed
200g quail meat, minced
15g corn flour
50ml water
Sea salt, just a pinch
1 free range egg

Dressing

100ml light soy sauce
40ml Shao sing cooking wine
25ml oyster sauce
5ml sesame oil

METHOD

Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.

Rehydrate your shitake mushrooms by placing in a separate bowl and covering with very hot to boiling water and resting for 20 minutes.

In a third (medium) sized bowl, mix the water, corn flour, salt and egg together. Then add the minced qual (or duck).

Using a hot wok, fry the quail mixture until it is caramelized and fluffy.

Add the lup cheong, spring onions, brown onion, mushrooms and water chestnuts and cook until the onions are cooked through and giving strong aromatics.

Remove from the heat and season with the dressing and coriander leaves.

Divide the mixture evenly into the lettuce cups and serve immediately.