Assorted Vegetables in a Clear Sauce
Submitted by neno5980
Chinese stir-fried assorted vegetables in a glossy clear sauce with carved carrots, turnips, mushrooms, baby corn, and optional crab. A showpiece side dish from the wok.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
45 minCOOK
15 minREADY
60 minThis dish is as much about craftsmanship as it is about flavor.
Carrots carved into tiny flowers, turnips scooped into perfect balls, asparagus tips, baby corn, straw mushrooms, and water chestnuts all come together in a glistening, lightly thickened sauce.
Optional crab meat or shrimp adds a luxurious touch, but even without it, the vegetables hold their own.
The technique is classic Chinese wok cooking: fast, hot, and precise, with every vegetable cooked to its own ideal texture.
Pro Tips
- Cut notches into the carrot slices before cooking to create those decorative flower shapes; it’s easier than it looks
- Parboil the turnips and carrots separately first so they’re just barely tender before hitting the wok
- Render the chicken fat slowly to get clean, flavorful oil that adds an authentic richness to the finished sauce
- Add the cornstarch paste a little at a time; you want a light glaze, not a thick gravy
Ingredients
Directions
Preparation: Peel turnips & carrots. Use melon scoop to cut turnips into large balls. Slice carrots ½ inch thick; then with paring knife, cut 4 evenly spaced notches into rim of each slice (don’t cut into center core). Carrots should look like little flowers. Parboil turnip & carrots in stock until barely tender. Remove from stock & plunge pieces into cold water; drain. Cut onions, asparagus & baby corn into 1½ inch pieces. Mince together fresh ginger root & vegetable seasoning.
In small pot or beaker on medium heat, render pieces of chicken fat.
Stir-frying: Add peanut oil to hot wok. When it begins to smoke, briskly fry crab meat or shrimp for 1 minute. Add asparagus, baby corn, mushrooms & water chestnuts, stir-frying until they are hot. Add ginger mixture, then onions. Stir-fry another 30 seconds. Add ½ stock, salt & sugar; bring to boil. Add turnips & carrots. Cover & reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes.
Uncover, push ingredients out of liquid, & dribble in cornstarch paste to thicken slightly. Stir liquid to prevent lumping while it thickens to a thick soup. Recombine, then mix in chicken oil. Remove to serving platter.
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