Recipes › Calabrese › Calabrese Stir-Fry with Oyster Sauce, Ginger and Cashews
Calabrese Stir-Fry with Oyster Sauce, Ginger and Cashews
A fast, fiercely hot stir-fry that treats calabrese the way a Cantonese kitchen would — high heat, minimal fuss, bold sauce. The florets stay just slightly crisp, the sauce coats every piece with deep savoury sweetness, and the cashews add crunch where it counts. On the table in twenty minutes, better than a takeaway.
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Ingredients
- 600 g Calabrese, cut into medium florets, stalks peeled and cut into 1cm coins
- 400 chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2cm piecesor use firm tofu, pressed and cubed, for a vegetarian version
- 3 tbsp oyster sauceuse vegetarian oyster sauce (mushroom-based) to keep it vegetarian
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wineor use dry sherry
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 3 tbsp cold water
- 4 cm fresh ginger, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
- 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 60 g cashew nuts, raw or roastedor use toasted peanuts
- 3 tbsp groundnut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 4 portions steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Contains: cereals gluten, molluscs, nuts, sesame, soya, sulphites.
Method
- Mix the oyster sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, caster sugar, cornflour, and water in a small bowl until smooth. Set the sauce aside.About 2 min
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the calabrese florets and stalk coins and blanch for exactly 2 minutes. Drain immediately and spread on a clean tea towel or kitchen paper to steam dry — wet vegetables will spit dangerously in the wok.About 4 min
- Heat a wok over the highest heat your hob will give until it begins to smoke. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook without moving for 90 seconds until seared, then stir-fry for a further 2 minutes until cooked through. Remove to a plate.About 4 min
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant but not burnt. Tip in the blanched calabrese and toss vigorously for 1 minute.About 2 min
- Return the chicken to the wok, pour the sauce over everything, and toss well over high heat for 1 minute until the sauce thickens and coats the calabrese and chicken in a glossy glaze.About 1 min
- Scatter in the cashews, give everything one final toss, and divide between four bowls of steamed jasmine rice.
Tips
- Steam-drying the blanched calabrese is not optional — moisture in a screaming hot wok causes dangerous splattering and stops the vegetables searing properly.
- If your hob is not very powerful, cook in two batches rather than one. A crowded wok steams instead of frying and the dish will be watery.
- Have every component prepped and ready before the wok goes on the heat — this dish moves fast.
Ring the changes
- Replace the chicken with 300g raw king prawns for an even quicker version — they need only about 2 minutes in the wok.
- Use vegetarian oyster sauce and cubed firm tofu in place of the chicken to make this suitable for vegetarians; reduce the oil to 2 tablespoons total.
Keeping it
Best eaten immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for 1 day and reheated in a hot pan with a splash of water, but the calabrese will soften considerably.
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