Recipe - Assorted Vegetables In A Clear Sauce

2 md Turnips
2 small Carrots
4 Green onions
3 Fresh asparagus spears
One half cup Button mushrooms
One half cup Peeled straw mushrooms
8 Baby sweet corn
8 Water chestnuts
One half teaspoon Fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon Tientsin preserved
Vegetable
2 tablespoon Peanut oil
2 cup Chicken stock
1 teaspoon Salt
1 pn Sugar
Cornstarch paste
1 tablespoon Chicken fat
One half cup Crab meat or shelled
Shrimp (opt)

Preparation: Peel turnips & carrots. Use melon scoop to cut turnips into
large balls. Slice carrots 1/2" thick; then with paring knife, cut 4
evenly spaced notches into rim of each slice (don't cut into center core).
Carrots should look like little flowers. Parboil turnip & carrots in stock
until barely tender. Remove from stock & plunge pieces into cold water;
drain. Cut onions, asparagus & baby corn into 1 1/2" pieces. Mince together
fresh ginger root & Tientsin preserved vegetable. Insmall pot or beaker on
medium heat, render pieces of chicken fat.

Stirfrying: Add peanut oil to hot wok. When it begins to smoke, briskly
fry crab meat or shrimp for 1 minute. Add asparagus, baby corn, mushrooms &
water chestnuts, stirfrying until they are hot. Add ginger mixture, then
onions. Stirfry another 30 seconds. Add One half stock, salt & sugar; bring to
boil. Add turnips & carrots. Cover & reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes.
Uncover, push ingredients out of liquid, & dribble in cornstarch paste to
thicken slightly. Stir liquid to prevent lumping while it thickens to a
thick soup. Recombine, then mix in chicken oil. Remove to serving platter.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini