Mixed Seafood Stir Fry

Pretty, isn't it?

Seafood in a light starchy sauce is a standard Chinese menu item. At home, I like to make a lighter version of the dish using a lot of fresh vegetables in addition to seafood. I forgot to add some mushrooms to today's mix, but I used green onions, celery, carrots, napa cabbage, cuttlefish, and shrimp. Like fried rice, anything you want to use up can be added to this dish: chunks of fish filet, clams, mushrooms, bok choy, bamboo shoots, etc.

The process is simple. Add ginger and oil to a cold pan, then heat the pan to as hot as you can get it. Add the vegetables one at a time, starting with the one that takes longest to cook. Allow about thirty seconds between each addition to let the pan heat back up, then add the seafood and a cup of chicken stock. Add a few dashes of white pepper and a pinch of hondashi, then cover until the seafood is barely cooked through. Turn the heat down to medium and stir in a slurry of cornstarch and water. I usually mix several heaping tablespoons of cornstarch with half a cup of water, then add about a fourth of the slurry at a time until the sauce is as thick as I want.