HUMMing Bird

A couple weeks ago, my roommate bought a big bag of fresh water chestnuts. They then sat in the fridge for days being ignored until one day we figured we have to cook them before they’ve gone bad.

So here are two resolutions of a similar kind: a stir-fry of colorful veggies.

#A: Asparagus, Water chestnuts, Carrots, and Sweet corns.

How to prepare it:

1. Trim the hard ends of fresh asparagus, and cut with an angle (easier to absorb the flavors of seasonings)

2. Peel off the skin of water chestnuts, and cut in halves

3. Some thin slices of carrots and a couple spoonful sweet corns for color.

How to make it:

1. In a hot pan put in some canola oil to cover half of the pan; when it’s hot, drop in the water chestnuts

2. Stir for a few seconds, wait for a minute before putting in the asparagus and carrots.

3. Add a bit of salt, freshly ground black pepper, and about two table spoons of the vegetarian oyster sauce. Stir thoroughly. Leave it with cover for a couple minutes.

4. Add sweet corns, stir well, and turn off the stove.

#B: Nagaimo, Tofu, Water Chestnuts, Carrots, Cucumbers, and Sweet Corns

Ingredients:

• Water chestnuts in halves
• Soft tofu
• Nagaimo in cubes
• Carrots and cucumbers in cubes
• Sweet corns from cans

The key in making this dish is the order in which you put each ingredient in: from the hardest to the softest

So it could have worked out better than the one in this picture if I put water chestnuts in first, then carrot and cucumber cubes, then nagaimo cubes, before the soft tofu. Don’t stir too hard as it would break the tofu too much. Similarly, add the sweet corns at the last minute. Just the combination of tofu and nagaimo would be great, but you need to put in some colorful veggies – otherwise, it looks boring