glossy vegetable stir-fry

2 min read

If there is one nugget of useful information we want you to absorb from this recipe, it is that cornflour can transform a quick vegetable stir-fry from it’s good for you’ to positively glitzy. Cantonese cooks often use a slurry of cornflour and water(heen)to finish their dishes because it adds gloss and luminosity Heenis stirred through cooked ingredients over a low heat until it thickens. What you are aiming for is a transparent coating that is neither too thick nor too thin-one that will merely gwa, or just ‘hang’, off the ingredients.

Serves 2 65g baby corn, diagonally sliced lus spe 90g asparagus spears, diagonally sliced 200g broccoli, cut into chunky florets 1 tsp cornflour 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 clove garlic, finely diced 100g oyster mushrooms, cleaned and torn into chopstickable pieces 1 tsp finely diced ginger tsp granulated sugar 12 tsp light soy sauce 4% tsp sesame oil salt and ground white pepper add an exotic (see here) 4g mook yee (wood ear mushrooms) 1 If you are adding an exotic: soak the mook yee in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes, then drain.

2 Fill a large saucepan with 1.5 litres water, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to the boil. Blanch the baby corn first for about 11/2 minutes, add the asparagus and broccoli and cook until all vegeta-bles are slightly softened but still crisp. Drain in a colander.

3 Make the heen. In a bowl, mix the cornflour and 3 tablespoons water into a slurry and set aside.

4 Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat and stir-fry half of the garlic briefly to release its oils. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for 2 minutes until plump. Add a pinch of pepper, stir-fry briefly then remove and set aside.

5 Add the remaining vegetable oil to the wok and put back on a high heat. Stir-fry the ginger and the remaining garlic until they release their aromas. Add the vegetables together with the drained mook yee, if using, and stir-fry for 2 minutes until each piece is lightly coated in oil.

6 Return the mushrooms to the wok, add 1/4 teaspoon salt, a pinch of pepper, the sugar and soy sauce and stir to mix evenly. Reduce the heat, give the cornflour slurry a stir, then drizzle it into the wok. Use a fast stir-frying motion to move the vegetables around as the sauce thickens.

Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil and serve.