Recipes › Turnip › Quick Turnip, Ginger and Coconut Stir-Fry
Quick Turnip, Ginger and Coconut Stir-Fry
Young turnips are cut into matchsticks and stir-fried hard and fast with ginger, chilli, and a splash of coconut milk until just tender with a little bite left. Ready in under 25 minutes, this is a weeknight vegetable main that genuinely satisfies. Serve over jasmine rice to soak up the fragrant sauce.
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Ingredients
- 700 g turnips, peeled and cut into 5mm matchsticks
- 200 ml coconut milk, full fat
- 4 cm fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced, seeds in or out to taste
- 4 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal, white and green parts separated
- 2 tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)use regular soy sauce if not gluten-free — note this adds gluten
- 2 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, such as sunflower or groundnut
- 15 g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 320 g jasmine rice, rinsed and cooked according to packet instructions
Contains: cereals gluten, milk, nuts, soya.
Method
- Start your rice cooking first so it is ready when the stir-fry is done.
- Mix the tamari, lime juice and sugar together in a small bowl and set aside. This is your sauce and having it ready before you start cooking is essential in a stir-fry.
- Heat a large wok or wide heavy frying pan over the highest heat you have for 2 minutes until genuinely smoking hot. Add the oil and immediately add the white parts of the spring onions, garlic, ginger and chilli. Stir-fry for 90 seconds until fragrant and just starting to colour.About 3 min
- Add the turnip matchsticks and toss everything together vigorously. Spread the turnips out in a single layer and let them cook undisturbed for 2 minutes so they get some colour on the bottom, then toss again. Repeat this once more — this gives flavour you cannot get from just constant stirring.About 5 min
- Pour the tamari sauce over the turnips and toss to coat. Add the coconut milk and stir well. Let everything bubble hard for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by about a third and coats the turnips. The turnips should be just tender but still have a little bite.About 5 min
- Remove from the heat. Stir through the green parts of the spring onions and most of the coriander. Taste and adjust with more lime juice or tamari if needed.
- Serve immediately over jasmine rice, scattered with the remaining coriander.
Tips
- The key to a good stir-fry is a screaming hot pan and not walking away. Have everything chopped and sauces mixed before you turn on the heat.
- Younger, smaller turnips are best here — they are sweeter and cook faster. If yours are large, blanch the matchsticks in boiling salted water for 2 minutes and drain well before stir-frying.
- This dish waits for no one. Get everyone to the table before you start cooking.
Ring the changes
- Add 200g firm tofu, cubed and pan-fried separately until golden, and toss in at the end for extra protein.
- Stir through a tablespoon of Thai red curry paste with the aromatics in step 3 for a deeper, spicier sauce.
Keeping it
Best eaten immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days and reheated in a hot wok with a splash of water, though the texture of the turnips will soften.
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