Chinese celery, pressed tofu & pork stir-fry
Fragrant, crunchy Chinese celery with tender pressed tofu and pork strips, quickly stir-fried in little oil — fresh and light with brown rice.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Damp-Heat shows up as spots, a bitter taste and sticky stools, and the warm, humid days of Awakening of Insects make it worse. Chinese celery clears heat, drains damp and calms the liver, paired with light tofu and lean pork in a quick, low-oil stir-fry.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min- 1Cut the pork into strips and marinate with half the soy sauce, the cornflour and 1 tbsp water for 10 minutes. Strip the celery leaves and cut the stalks into lengths; cut the tofu and carrot into strips.
- 2Heat half the oil, stir-fry the pork until it changes colour, then set aside.
- 3Add the rest of the oil to the wok, fry the garlic until fragrant, add the carrot and tofu and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the celery and stir-fry on high for 1 minute.
- 4Return the pork, add the remaining soy sauce and a pinch of salt, toss well and serve at once with brown rice.
Chef's tips
- Keep the celery leaves — add them to a quick soup or chop them into an omelette.
- Prefer more crunch? Use Western celery instead and peel off the stringy fibres first.
The TCM view
Celery is sweet, pungent and cool; it calms the liver, clears heat, drains damp and eases irritability. Pressed tofu is sweet and cool and clears heat; lean pork is sweet, salty and neutral, nourishing without adding heat; carrot is sweet and neutral and supports digestion. The dish is cool and fresh, clearing damp-heat without upsetting the stomach.
