Ingredients for He Cai: 2 carrots, 2 sheets of dried bean curd, a small bunch of celery, a small bunch of garlic, 6 shiitake mushrooms, a small bunch of wood ear mushrooms, a small bunch of enoki mushrooms, 1 each of green and red chili peppers, 3 small red chili peppers, 2 spring onions, a small piece of ginger, 3 pieces of fragrant dried tofu, soy sauce to taste, salt to taste, fragrant vinegar to taste, sesame oil to taste.
Method:
Step 1: Peel the carrots into fine shreds and place them on a bamboo tray to air out, allowing some of the moisture to evaporate, which gives the carrots more texture when eaten.
Step 2: Soak and clean the shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms, then cut them into fine shreds along with the fragrant dried tofu.
Step 3: Cut the dried bean curd into fine shreds and boil them for 3 minutes, then drain the water.
Step 4: Cut the celery into sections, and the garlic, green and red peppers, and ginger into fine shreds, and cut the small chili peppers into small pieces.
Step 5: Heat oil in a pan, add half of the ginger shreds and chili pepper pieces to infuse the oil with their aroma.
Step 6: Add the carrot shreds, dried bean curd shreds, celery, and green and red pepper shreds in sequence, season with salt, and finally add the garlic shreds. Turn off the heat and stir fry for a minute, then transfer to a larger container, which is very suitable if placed in the inner pot of a rice cooker.
Step 7: Add more oil to the pan, and in sequence, add ginger shreds, chili pepper pieces, shiitake mushroom shreds, enoki mushroom shreds, wood ear mushroom shreds, and fragrant dried tofu shreds. Stir fry until the moisture evaporates, then season with soy sauce and salt, and combine with the previously stir-fried carrot and vegetable shreds.
Step 8: Mix well.
Step 9: After serving, you can add a splash of fragrant vinegar and a few drops of sesame oil to enhance the flavor.
Cooking Tips: This dish is also delicious without fragrant vinegar. Adjust to your taste. Wishing everyone a healthy and smooth New Year! Good cooking has its tricks, and each of my dishes has a little secret. You can search for ‘Hubei Cuisine’ to directly view my recipes!
