Autumn Equinox · Dinner · Damp-Heat
Stir-fried celery, sweetcorn & pressed tofu
Crunchy celery, sweetcorn and pressed tofu, quickly stir-fried with little oil — light, fresh and on the table in ten minutes.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
CoolingClears heat & dampMoistens dryness
Why it suits you: Damp-Heat shows as a bitter taste, spots and sticky stools. Autumn Equinox is turning dry, but Hong Kong is still warm and humid. Celery clears heat and damp, corn drains water and tofu cools and moistens; a quick, low-oil stir-fry won't feed the heat.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min- 1Cut the kernels off the corn. De-string the celery and dice it; dice the carrot and pressed tofu too.
- 2Blanch the carrot and corn in boiling water with a few drops of oil for 2 minutes, then drain.
- 3Heat the oil in a wok, fry the garlic until fragrant, then fry the tofu over medium heat until lightly golden.
- 4Add the celery, corn and carrot and stir-fry on high heat for 1–2 minutes. Season with the soy sauce and salt, stir in the cornflour slurry and serve with brown rice.
Chef's tips
- Keep the corn cob and silk: simmer them in 1 litre of water for 20 minutes for a heat-clearing corn-silk drink.
The TCM view
Celery is sweet, bitter and cool and clears heat and damp; sweet corn is sweet and neutral and promotes urination; pressed tofu is sweet and cool, clearing heat and moistening; carrot is sweet and neutral. Cool and fresh overall, it clears damp-heat while respecting autumn dryness, and a little warm garlic protects the stomach.
