Cap Cay: Chinese-Indonesian Stir-Fried Vegetables

Ingredients

• 150 g cabbage, cut into rough pieces
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, sliced on the diagonal
• 150 g cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 100 g baby corn, halved lengthwise if large
• 100 g mushrooms, sliced
• 100 g snow peas, strings removed
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• For the sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tbsp cold water
• 120 ml water or light stock

Method

1. 1
   Heat the wok over the highest available flame until a drop of water vaporises on contact. Add oil and, immediately, the chopped garlic. Stir constantly for no more than 20 seconds — the garlic is ready when it turns pale gold and the kitchen fills with a sharp, sweet fragrance.
2. 2
   Add the harder vegetables first: carrot and cauliflower. Toss continuously in the wok, keeping them moving at all times. After roughly 2 minutes add cabbage, baby corn, and mushrooms; after a further minute add snow peas. This is where the dish lives or dies — sustained high heat must never drop: every vegetable must blister slightly at the edges while remaining firm to the bite. If the wok steams rather than sizzles, the temperature has fallen and the vegetables will stew.
3. 3
   Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce. Toss to coat every piece evenly. The vegetables should take on a glossy, deep colour.
4. 4
   Pour in the water or stock, then add the cornstarch slurry in a thin stream while tossing. The sauce is done when it turns from cloudy to translucent and clings to the vegetables in a light, even glaze — approximately 30 to 60 seconds over full heat.