Carrot ribbon stir fry
Introduction to carrot ribbon stir fry
This carrot ribbon stir fry recipe is really short,…. almost as short as this post and befitting of the short cooking time for this delightful vegetable dish that can be rustled-up in the time it takes to sizzle some chicken or fish after spending too much time in the veggie garden.
It must contain carrot ribbons that can cook quickly, onion for flavour and Warrigal Greens for nutrition ( and because I am building my portfolio of Warrigal Greens recipes to share with the local community garden to encourage the consumption and management of this wonderful rampant weed). However, silverbeet is a perfect greens substitute when it is back in season once more. Please see my Warrigal Greens fritter recipe for more background on this mysterious native weed/bush food that grows wild in many of my seaside camping places.
The carrot ribbon stirfry recipe
Use a potato peeler to cut three carrots into longish ribbons.
Slice an onion into thin half-rings. Wash and blanch a (metric) heap of Warrigal Greens after slicing roughly (width of ~7-10mm). More is better as they shrink a lot while blanching. Excess can be stored successfully in a plastic bag under refrigeration.
First, throw the onion into a hot wok with a little bit of olive oil. Then when the onion is just a little cooked throw in the rest of the vegetables and stir frequently for a period of 3 to 4 minutes (about the same time to cook some fish or chicken fillets on both sides in another pan.
The finishing sauce for the carrot ribbon stir fry
I find that a finishing sauce is a great supplement to otherwise simple vegetable flavours, so add seasonings of your choice. With this mix of vegetables, I like to mix two teaspoons of raw sugar with a heaped teaspoon of homemade sweet chilli sauce and about two teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice. Another similar sauce can be made with a hand full of sliced homemade pickled ginger and with sugar or honey and some acidic ginger pickling juice.
Throw this sauce into the frying mix and stir in as the heat is being turned off just prior to serving.
Conclusion discussion
This dish will be delightful if the cooking time is kept short and is served straight from the stove after mixing in the sauce. Start with plenty as it shrinks a lot with cooking.
According to Beating Around The Bush, Warrigal Greens are high in fibre, vitamin C and healthy antioxidants, but there could be harmful levels of oxalic acid (that could cause kidney stones) if it is not blanched before cooking. However, they go on to say that we eat kale and spinach with similar levels of oxalate without blanching.
So, out of curiosity (or sheer bedevilment), I thought I would have a taste of the blanching water. It had no taste of oxalic acid and not much taste at all! Let’s be thankful that we have the Warrigal Greens for health and the other stuff for flavour.
Tim
