Assorted Vegetables In A Clear Sauce

Servings: 4
Ingredients:

2 md Turnips                             1 tb Tientsin preserved
2 sm Carrots                                  -vegetable
4    Green onions                        2 tb Peanut oil
3    Fresh asparagus spears              2 c  Chicken stock
1/2 c  Button mushrooms                    1 ts Salt
1/2 c  Peeled straw mushrooms              1    Pinch sugar
8    Baby sweet corn                          Cornstarch paste
8    Water chestnuts                     1 tb Chicken fat
1/2 ts Fresh ginger root                        Crab Meat (Optional)

Preparation: Peel turnips and carrots. Use melon scoop to cut turnips into
large balls. Slice carrots 1/2′ 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 and carrots in stock
until barely tender. Remove from stock and plunge pieces into cold water;
drain. Cut onions, asparagus and baby corn into 1 1/2′ pieces. Mince
together fresh ginger root and Tientsin preserved vegetable. Insmall 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 and water
chestnuts, stir-frying until they are hot. Add ginger mixture, then onions.
Stir-fry another 30 seconds. Add 1/2 stock, salt and sugar; bring to boil.
Add turnips and carrots. Cover and reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover,
push ingredients out of liquid, and 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. Serves
4

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