Chinese Watercress With Garlic Stir Fry 西洋菜 Food

WATERCRESS STIR-FRY RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash the watercress carefully; remove the withered and yellow and also the old stems.
• Cut watercress finely into small pieces. Set aside and drain.
• Cut chili pepper into sections and slice the garlic cloves.
• In a small bowl, add cornstarch, water and salt. Mix well to make the stir-fry sauce.
• Heat up peanut oil in wok, add chili pepper and garlic slices to stir-fry until aroma.
• Add watercress in. Do a quick stir-fry until the watercress is half-cooked.
• Pour the sit-fry sauce in and quick fry again for around 1 minute.
• Transfer out and serve hot!

STIR-FRIED WATERCRESS: A HEALTHY LEAFY GREEN VEGETABLE

Steps:

• Place your wok over medium high heat, and add the oil, spreading it around to coat the surface of the wok.
• Add the ginger, letting it caramelize and infuse the oil. Take care not to let it burn. Add the minced garlic, and give it a stir. Immediately add the watercress (if you wait too long, your garlic could burn). Turn the heat up to high.
• Stir-fry the watercress for 20 seconds to evenly distribute the ginger, garlic and oil. Once mixed, move all of the watercress to the center of the wok in a small pile, and cover the wok.
• After 45 seconds, uncover the wok. There should be plenty of steam at this point. Use a circular stirring motion to drag the pile of watercress and some of the liquid around the sides of the superheated wok. Stirring the watercress against the hottest and driest part of the wok will generate that wok hay flavor. Gather the watercress back in the middle of the wok. To give you an idea of the cooking time, this step should take no more than 20 seconds.
• While you wait for the sides of the wok to reheat, add the white pepper, sugar, salt, sesame oil and MSG, if using. (A quick note on the spices: we list MSG as optional because many people shy away from it, but it's a tasty addition to leafy green vegetables that really gives you that restaurant flavor. Use it per your own tastes and perspectives!)
• Stir-fry the mixture again to mix in the seasonings, once more stirring the watercress and the liquid so it hits the sides of the wok to generate more wok hay.
• Use your wok spatula to scoop the watercress onto a shallow rimmed bowl, making sure to get the remaining liquid, as it's super-infused with garlic, ginger, and those vitamins from the watercress. Serve as a side dish or just with some white rice as a super light vegan meal.

CHINESE WATERCRESS WITH GARLIC STIR FRY 西洋菜

Steps:

• You can slice the garlic, but I like to take the cloves and just mash it with a big knife. Heat oil in a skillet or wok over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add watercress and cover for a about a minute. Uncover, add salt, and cook stirring constantly for about few minutes until it is fully cooked.

WILTED WATERCRESS WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet or wok (not nonstick) over medium heat until hot. Add oil, then garlic, and cook, tossing constantly, until garlic is deep golden. Add watercress and salt, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, tossing constantly, 45 seconds. Add stock and toss again, then cook, covered, until stems are crisp-tender and leaves are just wilted, about 20 seconds.
• Serve with garlic cloves arranged on top.