Watercress stir fry is a fast and straightforward facet dish that’s wealthy in taste and filled with vitamins. Spend 10 minutes to make this dish and full your dinner! {Vegetarian Adaptable, Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Leafy greens are an essential part of the Chinese language dinner desk attributable to their well being advantages. The truth is, many households attempt to have a minimum of one leafy inexperienced dish for dinner day by day. If you happen to’re on this subject, take a look at my article on Chinese green vegetables.
Watercress stir fry is likely one of the hottest inexperienced vegetable stir fries and I take pleasure in it and cook dinner it typically. It takes no time to arrange, tastes scrumptious, and may accompany many various kinds of meals.
Substances
Watercress
Watercress, or Xi Yang Cai (西洋菜), actually means “Western Vegetable” in Chinese language. It’s mentioned that the vegetable was delivered to China from Portugal, after which turned fairly standard in Cantonese delicacies.
The vegetablee is low in energy, however full of nutritional vitamins C, Ok, and A, and calcium and Manganese. It’s antioxidant-rich, which helps enhance coronary heart well being.
You possibly can simply discover watercress offered in small batches at Chinese language grocery shops, and sometimes at grocery shops equivalent to Complete Meals.
Oyster sauce
Oyster sauce is a vital ingredient so as to add umami to the watercress stir fry. A really small quantity of it goes a great distance. It’s very generally utilized in Cantonese dishes equivalent to this one. It’s OK to switch it with soy sauce in the event you don’t have oyster sauce readily available, however I extremely suggest oyster sauce. It’s the ingredient that may make this dish style prefer it got here from a Chinese language restaurant.
If you happen to want a vegetarian or vegan dish, you need to use vegetarian oyster sauce (additionally referred to as mushroom sauce). For a gluten-free dish, use a gluten-free oyster sauce.
Mise en place
It solely takes 5 components to make a wealthy tasting watercress stir fry.
- Watercress, soaked and drained
- Soy sauce
- Oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce)
- Garlic
- Sugar
Learn how to make watercress stir fry
Making the watercress stir fry is tremendous straightforward:
- Saute the garlic in oil to launch perfume
- Stir fry the watercress till al dente
- Add the sauce and sugar
- Combine every thing collectively
The important thing to creating one of the best watercress stir fry is to make use of a sizzling pan and excessive warmth to sear the watercress rapidly. It’s essential to cook dinner it till simply tender with out overcooking it.
Do I would like a wok?
You don’t want a wok to cook dinner this watercress stir fry.
I’ve defined my favourite stir fry setup in my Wok vs. Stir Fry Pan post. Briefly, I do want to make use of a wok for easier dishes like this one, as a result of the wok hei (sizzling air that makes the dish smoky) imparts an awesome style to it that’s fairly outstanding.
Alternatively, it’s completely OK to make use of a frying pan, whether or not it’s nonstick or carbon metal. The hot button is to warmth up the pan actually sizzling however not overcook the greens. The seasonings on this recipe will enable you to make a scrumptious stir fry even with out the smokiness.
Learn how to serve watercress stir fry
This watercress stir fry is from Cantonese delicacies. Nonetheless, it could possibly accompany all kinds of dishes. Irrespective of if you wish to serve it together with your favourite sweet and sour pork, use it to steadiness out the spiciness of mapo tofu, otherwise you merely need to add a facet to your roast chicken, this one will work completely.
Different straightforward facet dishes for dinner
Watercress Stir Fry (炒西洋菜)
Substances
- 1 bunch (1 lb / 450 g) watercress
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 3 cloves garlic , sliced
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- Salt to style (Non-compulsory)
Directions
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Soak the watercress in chilly faucet water for two to three minutes whereas making ready different components. Then drain completely and put aside.
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Combine the oyster sauce and soy sauce collectively in a small bowl.
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Warmth oil in a wok or massive skillet over medium-high warmth till sizzling. Add the garlic. Stir just a few instances to launch perfume.
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Add the watercress. Stir and cook dinner just a few instances to combine nicely with the oil.
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Pour within the oyster sauce and soy sauce combination. Sprinkle evenly with the sugar. Proceed to stir as you cook dinner, to combine the seasoning evenly. When the watercress turns tender however continues to be crisp, switch every thing to a plate. Flip to low warmth and style the sauce. Sprinkle with a small pinch of salt if wanted (*Footnote 1). Serve sizzling as a facet dish.
Notes
- I often don’t add salt to my watercress stir fry. Nonetheless, you may need to alter the seasoning if you’re utilizing a much bigger bunch of watercress.
Vitamin
Serving: 1serving, Energy: 79kcal, Carbohydrates: 2.2g, Protein: 1.9g, Fats: 7g, Saturated Fats: 1.2g, Sodium: 199mg, Potassium: 114mg, Fiber: 0.7g, Sugar: 0.5g, Calcium: 24mg, Iron: 1mg