Delve into these delicious delicacies of the deep

Discussing the new rules of the Bartenders Competitions to take place at the upcoming Hofex, food, wine & spirits show (May 11-14 ) over dinner with Neil Wong (president of the HKBA) and my fellow judge Thomas Lim, I was introduced to a mouth-watering dish made by master chef Tsang Chiu-king who specializes in fine Chinese cuisine. It's not the first time I've eaten this dish but it is certainly the best I've tasted.

Very attractive when presented with the heads and tails, as done here, it takes a little time to make but is not beyond the scope of a home cook. Just be patient!

Here is an adaptation of the recipe for stir-fried sliced giant garoupa stuffed with shrimp paste (which won the Silver Award in the 2009 HKTB Best of the Best Culinary Awards). It was provided by Tsang Chiu-king, Executive Chef - East at Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong.

The ingredients are six slices of giant garoupa, six giant king prawns, two taels chives, one tael of crabmeat.

With the finished presentation in mind, remove (twist off) the heads and squeeze off the tails of the king prawns and set aside. Ease off the shells and carefully cut out the black vein with the point of a knife - that's the prawn's digestive tract and can taste bitter. In a bowl, mix the prawn meat well with the crabmeat until it becomes a paste, I find a heavy fork is ideal for this. Place portions of the paste onto each slice of garoupa and chill covered while you prepare the garnish.

Deep fry the prawn heads and tails, add a shake of pepper and set aside. Quickly fry the chives in oil for just a few seconds, add a little soy sauce and set aside.

Sprinkle a little cornstarch over the sliced garoupa and fry with some soy sauce until it is quite dry. Place the sliced garoupa on top of the chives. Serve with prawn heads and tails lined up beside each slice of garoupa.

This giant garoupa stuffed with prawns dish is good with a semillon/ sauvignon wine from New Zealand.

But the dish becomes extra-special with a full-bodied, ripe and dry Burgundy (France) white wine such as a Pouilly-Fuisse, which is made only from chardonnay grapes. Some of the best producers I've found are: Domaine Thibert Pere & Fils Les Menetriers Pouilly-Fuisse, Chateau de Bouregard Pouilly-Fuisse Grand Beauregard, Domaine Ferret Le Clos Tete du Cru Pouilly-Fuisse. Not cheap but well worth the price.

On replicating the dish to make sure it is suitable for this column, I also added a dish of stir-fried mixed vegetables and one of minced pork with salted fish - in this case anchovies in oil which I find easier to use and more adaptable than local salted fish. A little goes a long way and they can be stored and used in other ways: mashed into warm oil with a touch of fresh chilli pepper and poured over fettucine pasta which is then completed by a good grating of aged parmesan cheese and some freshly ground black pepper.

The mashed anchovies are also very tasty when used as a dressing for steamed broccoli, or, with a touch of balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing.

For a snack when there's no time to make a more substantial meal, melt two pieces of anchovies in 1 table spoon of good olive oil and spread on toast.

Anchovies are quite salty so even 1 or 2 pieces can make enough for two people.