ASSORTED VEGETABLES IN A CLEAR SAUCE

Servings: 4
Ingredients:

2 md Turnips
2 sm Carrots
4    Green onions
3    Fresh asparagus spears
1/2 c  Button mushrooms
1/2 c  Peeled straw mushrooms
8    Baby sweet corn
8    Water chestnuts
1/2 ts Fresh ginger root
1 tb Tientsin preserved
Vegetable
2 tb Peanut oil
2 c  Chicken stock
1 ts Salt
1 pn Sugar
Cornstarch paste
1 tb Chicken fat
1/2 c  Crab meat or shelled
Shrimp (opt)

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.

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