This spicy eight treasures stir fry dish is much beloved by many, our family included.
It’s called “Eight Treasures” for a reason. Eight is a really lucky number in Chinese culture. A dish with 8 main ingredients? It’s luck in a bowl.
This Spicy Eight Treasures Stir Fry is another everyday home cooking dish from the old days in Shanghai.
I have to credit this recipe to my uncle. My aunt and uncle both love spicy food, and they MUST have something spicy with every meal. They used to stir-fry whole long hot peppers (seeds and all) as a side dish. Doesn’t that just make your mouth water? No? Well, it’s certainly not for the faint of heart.
I think the secret of my uncle’s version of this dish is a combination of 3 things: dried shrimp, loads of garlic and the substitution of spicy bean paste for the sweet bean paste that’s traditionally used (we’re using everyone’s favorite: Lao Gan Ma Black Bean Chili Sauce).
That’s what’s so great about Chinese cooking. You can make the dish to your own liking with the ingredients that suit you and your family. With each adjustment, you get another unique flavor.
If you don’t like your food too spicy, cut back on the hot bean paste and replace it with sweet bean paste. You can also get creative and replace some of the ingredients that I used here for our version of the Chinese eight treasures stir fry.
You could use lotus root, shiitake mushrooms, chicken, bamboo shoots…anything with a relatively firm texture that can stand up to all the other ingredients. As long as there are 8 things, you’re good. If you want to add the shrimp, you can find them in the Asian grocery store in the dry goods aisle.
Here’s what you need:
- 1 cup spiced bean curd (tofu), cut in ½-inch cubes
- 1 cup diced carrot, cut in ½-inch cubes
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
- 1 cup lean pork, diced into ½-inch cubes
- 2 whole heads of garlic, peeled and diced
- ½ cup small dried shrimp, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup raw shelled peanuts, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup diced green pepper (long hot pepper can be used for extra heat, or you can use bell peppers if you prefer it mild)
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons hot bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Black Bean Hot Sauce (老干妈 – Lao Gan Ma brand)
Stir fry the spiced bean curd with a teaspoon of oil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Then take it out of the wok and set aside. We’re going to be doing a lot of stir-frying/setting aside here. So just keep at it. It goes by quickly.
Stir fry the carrot with a teaspoon of oil using medium heat for about two minutes…until softens slightly. Set aside.
Repeat the process another two times with the edamame and the cubed pork and set both aside.
Then add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and stir-fry the garlic over medium heat for about a minute.
Add the shrimp and stir to combine.
Add the peanuts and stir for another 3-5 minutes, until they start to smell fragrant. Then add the green pepper and mix well. Now add all the pre-cooked ingredients: the bean curd, carrot, edamame and pork. Continue to stir and cook so that everything comes together. Add cooking wine, spicy bean paste, sugar, sesame oil, and the black bean chili sauce. Stir everything together and keep stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated and all the ingredients are well-coated in sauce.
Time to plate and serve. We also like to eat this eight treasures stir fry dish cold!
Chinese Spicy Eight Treasures Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 cup spiced bean curd (cut in ½-inch cubes)
- 1 cup carrot (diced in ½-inch cubes)
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame (thawed)
- 1 cup lean pork (diced into ½-inch cubes)
- 2 heads garlic (peeled and chopped)
- ½ cup small dried shrimp (rinsed and drained)
- 1 cup raw shelled peanuts (rinsed and drained)
- 1 cup green pepper (diced; long hot peppers can be used for extra heat, or you can use bell peppers if you prefer it mild)
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons spicy bean paste (doubanjiang)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon black bean chili sauce (Lao Gan Ma brand)
Instructions
- Stir fry the spiced bean curd with a teaspoon of oil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Take it out of wok and set aside. Stir fry the carrot with a teaspoon of oil using medium heat for about two minutes…until softens slightly. Take it out of wok and set aside. Repeat the process another two times with the edamame and the cubed pork and set both aside.
- Then add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and stir-fry the garlic over medium heat for about a minute. Add the shrimp and stir to combine. Add the peanuts and stir for another 3-5 minutes, until they start to smell fragrant. Then add the green pepper and mix well. Now add all the pre-cooked ingredients: the bean curd, carrot, edamame and pork. Continue to stir and cook for another few minutes so that everything comes together. Add cooking wine, spicy bean paste, sugar, sesame oil, and the black bean chili sauce. Stir everything together and keep stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated and all the ingredients are well-coated in sauce. Plate and serve!
On the TV show “Meteor Garden” (2018) the main character prepares this recipe and adds pineapple, I can’t wait to try cooking this myself and adding pineapple too!
Hahaha…I watched it too. It’s one of my favorite shows. The girl was famous for her version of this dish. Please let me know how it is with pineapple :-)
Quite a good recipe. Even my fussy partner enjoyed it. Will add a bit of stock or water to it as the dried shrimps had stuck to the pan.
Thank you for trying the recipe, Frances. This recipe is very old, and it probably needs a refresh :-)
hi can we order 8 treasure stuff chickentom. May 5 we need it lunch time say 12 our address is #17 Augusta st. Ayala hillside Estate. Capitol drive Balara Q. city.thanks-Doc Ed Francisco
Hi Ed, if there were only a practical way to ship/deliver food so far away, it would be a great business!
We had this for the first time last night and it was very good. I can’t wait to have the rest for lunch.
Great! Thank you for trying it, I like it too :-)
This looks delicious. I myself would exchange the pork with fresh shrimps or perhaps chicken as I do not eat pork ( and do not know why Chinese add it to absolutely everything) but the ingredients and sauce looks delicious !!
Thank you, Michael. Just so you know, pork is the most common protein, other than tofu, in China.
wow have you ever tried kimbap. is there any difference between kimbap and sushi just wondering lol
Hi iheartdrama, your comment is a bit misplaced here on this particular recipe haha, but regarding Korean kimbap, it is a similar concept to sushi rolls in that there is also rice wrapped in seaweed. But the rolls are usually thicker, and fillings are different (kimchi, egg, vegetables, etc.)