Crisp Jicama, Velvety Meat: A Fast Two-Step Stir-Fry

This stir-fry is really two recipes in one: how to prep a crisp vegetable, and how to velvet meat so it stays silky in the wok. The result is a dish with wonderful contrast - crunchy, mildly sweet jicama against tender, glossy meat - and the techniques transfer to almost any stir-fry you make all week.

Materials

• Jicama: one medium-size
• Chicken breast or pork: about 250 g

Ingredients

• Ginger: 10-15 g
• Spring onion: 1
• Salt: 2 g
• White pepper powder: 2 g
• Cooking liquor: 60 ml
• Soy sauce: 60 ml
• Corn starch: 50 g
• Plant oil: 50 ml
• A few pieces of spice (Sichuan pepper, cumin, bay leaf, dried chilies, etc.)

Prep the jicama

Jicama stays beautifully crisp, but carrot, lettuce trunk, sweet pepper, chayote, or cabbage all work well here - or omit the extra vegetable entirely.

1. Peel the jicama and cut off both ends.
2. Cut it into 4 large pieces, then slice them into thin slices.
3. Soak the slices in cold water for a while to keep them crisp.

Velvet the meat

1. Slice the meat into thin pieces, cutting along the grain.
2. Place the slices in a container. Slice the ginger thinly and lay it over the meat.
3. Add 2 g salt, 2 g white pepper, and 60 ml cooking liquor. Gently squeeze the mixture with your fingers until every piece is coated.
4. Add 50 g corn starch and squeeze it into the meat, adding 5-10 ml water if it feels dry, until every piece is evenly dressed.

Stir-fry

1. Cut the spring onion into about 1-inch sections. Put the white parts over the meat and set the green parts aside for later. Rinse the soaked jicama once and set it aside.
2. Pour about 50 ml oil into a wok and heat it to the hottest level.
3. Add the spices and wait until little gas bubbles form around them.
4. Add the prepared meat and stir, separating it into pieces as it cooks.
5. Add the jicama and stir, keeping the pieces separated and independent.
6. Pour 30 ml soy sauce over the top and keep stirring until everything is dressed.
7. Add the green parts of the spring onion and stir for about 20 seconds. Done.

Serve immediately over steamed rice. The crisp-tender vegetable, the silky meat, and the savory soy glaze make this an easy weeknight favorite - and now you have a go-to technique for many more.