Stir-fried sliced whelk with celery
Frozen whelk slices thawed, blanched and flash-fried with crisp celery — springy, sweet and cooling without being drying, on the table in ten minutes.
- 21 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Medium
Why it suits you: Yin-deficient people are short of fluids, prone to a dry mouth, restlessness and hot palms and soles, and Chushu's first autumn dryness drains yin further. Whelk is sweet and cold, nourishing yin, clearing heat and brightening the eyes; celery clears heat, calms the liver and eases restlessness. Quickly stir-fried with little oil, it's crisp, cooling and light.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 6 min- 1Thaw the whelk in the fridge, rub with a little salt and cornflour to remove the slime and rinse. String the celery and slice it on the diagonal; slice the carrot.
- 2Bring a pan of water to the boil with a slice of ginger. Blanch the whelk for 20 seconds until it curls, then drain at once. Blanch the celery and carrot for 30 seconds and drain.
- 3Heat the oil and fry the remaining ginger and the garlic until fragrant. Stir-fry the celery and carrot for 1 minute and season with salt and sugar.
- 4Add the whelk, splash the wine around the edge of the pan and toss over a high heat for 30 seconds. Stir in a little cornflour mixed with water to glaze and serve.
Cautions
- Whelk is cold, so go easy if your digestion is weak or you get loose stools; avoid it if shellfish disagrees with you or you have gout or high uric acid.
Chef's tips
- Rubbing the whelk with salt and cornflour removes the slime and any fishy smell; blanch only until it curls and toss it back in at the very end so it stays crisp.
The TCM view
Whelk is sweet, salty and cold, entering the liver and kidneys, nourishing yin, clearing heat, brightening the eyes and draining water. Celery is sweet, bitter and cool, clearing heat, calming the liver and easing restlessness; carrot is sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen and nourishing the liver; ginger settles the stomach and tempers the whelk's coolness.
