Master the art of stir-frying carrots and vegetables Cantonese-style with perfectly balanced texture and flavor. This homestyle side dish combines tender-crisp carrots with snow peas, cloud ear fungus, mushrooms, and celery in a light, savory sauce.
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Adapted from a video by Made With Lau
🥕 How my dad makes Carrots taste 10X better! (素炒紅蘿蔔)
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1
Soak the cloud ear fungus in warm water until it swells and softens, then drain.
2
Remove the tough strings from both ends of each snow pea by pulling from the protruding end, following the string's direction so it tears cleanly.
3
Rinse briefly to remove dust, soak, and then drain.
4
Trim the dirty ends off the seafood mushrooms, cut longer ones in half, and rinse with water.
5
Rinse the king oyster mushroom, cut lengthwise in half, then slice at an angle into roughly 1/4-inch-thick pieces.
6
Trim both ends of celery and remove leaves, cut in half and rinse, then cut into thin strips about 2–3 inches long.
7
Slice the ginger into thin pieces (about half an ounce is enough) and slice the garlic after trimming and peeling.
8
Peel the carrot, optionally cut decorative notches around it for presentation, then slice thinly to about the thickness of a US quarter.
9
Rinse the soaked cloud ear fungus again, tear off and discard any stems.
10
Mix oyster sauce, light soy sauce, salt, sugar, water, and potato starch in a bowl to prepare the stir-fry sauce.
11
Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a wok or pot. Add cloud ear fungus and blanch for 10 seconds, then add carrots. Once water returns to a boil, wait about a minute, then add celery and king oyster mushrooms.
12
After another minute, add the seafood mushrooms, mix gently, and after another minute add the snow peas. Cook everything together for a final minute.
13
Turn off heat and place all vegetables in a strainer to drain thoroughly.
14
In the same wok over moderate heat (not too hot, to avoid burning the ginger and garlic), add 2 tablespoons of oil, then add ginger and garlic. Fry for about 20–30 seconds until fragrant.
15
Turn heat to high, add all the blanched vegetables, and toss constantly. Splash cooking wine along the edge of the hot wok to enhance the aroma.
16
After about a minute of stir-frying, gradually pour in the prepared sauce while tossing constantly to avoid burning or over-thickening. Add the sauce in stages rather than all at once.
17
Stir-fry for a final minute, then turn off the heat and serve.
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