Stir-fried prawns with water caltrop & edamame
Mid-Autumn water caltrop, floury yet crisp, stir-fried with edamame and prawns in little oil — light, low in fat and easy on digestion.
- 30 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Phlegm-Dampness means feeling heavy, sleepy and phlegmy, so food should strengthen digestion without grease. Water caltrop is at its best around Autumn Equinox and supports the spleen and stomach; edamame helps clear water and prawns are lean. Stir-fried in little oil — count the caltrop as half your rice and stop at 70% full.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min- 1Rub the prawns with a little salt and 1 tsp cornflour, rinse, pat dry with kitchen paper, then mix with another pinch of salt and the rest of the cornflour and leave for 10 minutes.
- 2Soak the tangerine peel, scrape off the pith and shred it. Cut the caltrop into thick slices and boil for 5 minutes, add the edamame and carrot for 3 minutes more, then drain.
- 3Heat the oil in a wok, fry the ginger, garlic and peel until fragrant, then stir-fry the prawns over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, until pink and curled into a C.
- 4Add the caltrop, edamame and carrot and toss over high heat for 1 minute. Season with salt and serve with half a bowl of brown rice.
Cautions
- Always cook water caltrop through — eaten raw it can carry parasites such as intestinal flukes.
- Allergic to prawns or shellfish? Use chicken breast strips instead.
Chef's tips
- Around Autumn Equinox, wet markets sell shelled water caltrop; if you buy them whole, boil for 20 minutes, then snip open the shells.
The TCM view
Cooked water caltrop is sweet and neutral and strengthens the spleen and stomach; edamame is sweet and neutral, eases the middle and drains water; prawns are sweet and warm and nourish without heaviness; aged tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, dries damp and clears phlegm, helped by warming ginger. Light and low in fat, it clears damp without drying you out in autumn.
