Crispy Seaweed
1 min readZha Cai
1.1kg pak choi
900 ml(2 pints) groundnut or vegetable oil
1teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
50g pine kernels, lightly roasted, to garnish
Pak choi substitutes well for the special type of seaweed used in this eastern-northern dish in China, now so popular in the West, or try the recipe with spinach leaves.
1. Separate the individual leaves with stems from the main stem of the pak choi and cut the green leaves from the white stems(save the stems and stir-fry them with garlic or use them for soup). Wash the green leaves in several changes of cold water. Drain them thoroughly in a colander and spin them dry in a salad spinner.
2. Take the leaves, roll them up tightly and finely shred them. Lay them out to dry on a baking sheet and then put them in a preheated oven,120C(250F), Gas Mark 2, for 15 minutes to dry. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. This can be done the day before.
3. Heat a wok over a high heat until it is hot, then add the oil. When the oil is hot and slightly smoking, deep-fry the greens, in 2 or 3 batches, for about 30 seconds until they turn deep green, then remove them imme-diately and drain well on kitchen paper. Leave to cool.
4. Toss the crispy greens in the salt and sugar. Garnish with the pine kernels and serve.
