China · Home-style
Stir-Fried Celery with Garlic
Celery stir-fried hard and fast in lard with plenty of garlic, salted before it hits the wok so the stems stay bright and crunchy.
The whole point of this dish is that the celery should still be slightly raw when it reaches the table, and cooks argue about the last few seconds accordingly. Salting goes in before the celery rather than after, so the stalks season all the way through while staying juicy. Lard rather than a neutral oil is traditional here, and it is what keeps the flavor on the vegetable.
Ingredients
- celery300 g
- garlic4 pieces
- lard15 ml
- salt2 g
Directions
- 1
Pull most of the leaves off the celery, keeping a few tender ones. If the stalks are thick, split them lengthways so they cook evenly, then cut them into lengths of no more than 5 cm, about the length of your thumb, since longer pieces catch in the throat.
- 2
Chop the garlic and set it aside.
- 3
Shake the celery pieces as dry as you can before they go near the wok.
- 4
Heat the wok, add 15 ml of lard and sprinkle in 2 g of salt once the fat is hot.
- 5
Add the chopped garlic and fry over low heat for 10 seconds until fragrant.
- 6
Turn the heat to high, add the celery and stir-fry hard for 30 seconds, then take it out of the wok immediately.
- 7
The dish is done when the celery looks half-done, still bright green and not collapsed, which is when it is crunchiest.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.