A Dish Made of Colors – Vegetarian Stir-Fried Corn | Hong Kong Food Blog with Recipes, Cooking Tips mostly of Chinese and Asian styles | Taste Hong Kong

A Dish Made of Colors – Vegetarian Stir-Fried Corn

Stir-Fried Corn, a Vegetarian Dish Made of Colors

I didn’t make this dish with very special ingredients to have it looked colorful. Be it yellow, orange, green, lime and black, each ingredient is inexpensive and possibly is among the common leftovers in our fridge.

This is a vegetarian dish made of colors. But let me tell you, I actually copied its name from a video called ‘A Day Made of Glass’, which as of this moment has recorded more than 12 million views on YouTube. Embedded it here because I wish to credit the source for its inspiration and, hopefully you will find the visual tour entertaining. Anyway, be relaxed after your kitchen tasks.

Back to cooking. I have no objection that this is simply a stir-fry, yet it still challenges us with good planning. We don’t just assemble and fry ingredients in wok all at once. Instead, there is a sequential order to follow.

Ingredients for Stir-Fried Corn

Mushrooms require longer cooking time, so they go in the wok first. Corn kernels, dry tofu, and carrot, though can be quickly cooked, are simmered together with the mushrooms for taking up more flavors. Bell pepper loses its crunchiness if over-cooked, therefore it is dished up after briefly cooked and seasoned. Because the pickled mustard already tastes salty, that is why it is added after the sauce is combined with other ingredients.

If you are not a strict vegetarian, you may add more flavors to the dish by replacing part of the chili sauce and soy sauce with oyster sauce. If meat fits your appetite, just sauté it with mushrooms and have it simmered all way through. Needless to say, the choice of vegetables can be adapted to suit personal taste or to take the biggest advantage of seasonal produce.

Ingredients for Stir-Fried CornIngredients for Stir-Fried Corn

  • Ingredients
  • 1 ear sweet corn,
  • 1/2 pc carrot, diced
  • 4 dried black mushrooms, rehydrated and diced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
  • 2 pcs dried tofu, diced
  • 2 tbsp diced Sichuan pickled mustard
  • 1 clove shallot, finely sliced
  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 tsp wine
  • before cutting, wash vegetables as required

Stir-Frying Bell Pepper in WorkStir-Frying Corn and Vegetables
Stir-Frying Bell Pepper in WorkStir-Frying Corn and Vegetables

Method

Cut corn kernels off the cob like this, and have all vegetables and mushrooms readily diced.

Over medium flame, heat one table spoon of oil in wok. Sauté bell pepper, about half to one minute, season it with a pinch of salt. Dish up.

Heat remaining table spoon of oil. Sauté shallot, add mushrooms; stir fry and sprinkle in wine on sides of wok. As they are lightly browned, about two minutes, add dried tofu, carrot and kernels. Keep stirring as adding each of them into the wok. Then, mix well all seasonings and pour in. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to the lowest, cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until 2 to 3 table spoons of sauce remain.

Uncover, flip and turn the ingredients. Check if you need to season with some more salt.

Return green bell pepper to wok and toss in Sichuan pickled mustard. Stir well and dish up.

Stir-Fried Corn, a Color Vegetarian Dish

Serve hot and enjoy!

A Day Made of Glass… by Corning Incorporated


To get immediate updates and new recipes from my blog, you may also SUBSCRIBE them via RSS feeds. See you there.

Comments

Thank you for visiting, I would love to hear from you as much as I love to put up posts here ...
  1. Pepy @Indonesia Eats

    Yummm!

  2. penny aka jeroxie

    Everything is cut to same size and it seems like a medley of disco vege in the wok!

  3. Mary Moh

    Love the combination of colours. It looks very healthy and delicious.

  4. Juliana

    I love your veggie stir fry, specially with the dry tofu…beautiful colors and flavors. Hope you are having a great week 🙂

  5. tigerfish

    I agree with you. Sequence is important when we cook a dish like this with the available veggies we have on-hand. And the colors made my day too! 🙂

  6. food-4tots

    A simple stir-fry dish that requires a lot of preparation and cooking skills. Your dish looks so colourful and will a lot of “wok hei”. 😉

  7. Angie's Recipes

    This does look indeed colourful, nutritious and tasty!

  8. mycookinghut

    Very colourful and simple stir-fry that I love!

  9. Tastes of Home (Jen)

    Love this simple yet so vibrant stir-fry! I love the flavours too 🙂

  10. Mei Teng

    Yummy! I love corn in salads and stir fry.

  11. pigpigscorner

    Looks so colourful and delicious! I do this with frozen mixed veg, lazy me 😛

  12. TasteHongKong

    @pigpigscorner,
    When time is insufficient, frozen foods would be my choice too. Sometimes we have to be lazy : ). If all possible I’d briefly blanch the veggie before frying, just to share.

  13. noobcook

    colourful, pretty and easy-to-eat… this dish is perfect in so many ways =)

  14. Jeannie

    That dish looks too beautiful to be eaten, not to mention healthy too! Nice photos:D

  15. Lori

    I can’t wait to make this when all our summer veggies come on! That fresh corn is gorgeous.

  16. Marc Chambaud@ kotanyicn.com

    This dish look great and healthy and delicious. This is my type of dishes. This is simply great. I am discovering your blog and i am eager to look more into it. thanks for the great job.

  17. Lun

    Yes, thanks every lunar 1st & 15 th is vegetarian day for me. And monday is coming so my wife say will try this food

    Great

  18. TasteHongKong

    @Lun,
    The vegetarian day practice is also seen here. But I believe most of us will have a big feast on next Monday because it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival.
    Whether or not you are going to celebrate, enjoy the dish!

  19. Helena

    I don’t understand why, but when I made this a few days ago, the seasoning sauce didn’t reduce at all until I uncovered the wok, although I simmered it for more than 10 minutes ! I followed your instructions step-by-step, so do you think it’s due to my equipment ?
    By the way, I have purchased century eggs and tasted them, and it was actually far better than I had imagined ! But as I’m not used to eat this kind of food, I’m a bit afraid of consuming them raw, may it be harmful ?
    Have a nice day !

  20. TasteHongKong

    @Helena,
    Excuse me, I should have added “Bring to a boil (italic under method) before turning heat to the lowest… ” Mine is a stainless wok, if the sauce didn’t reduce in yours, try using moderate heat than low (you may need to monitor closely to avoiding scorching). Our target is to get all the ingredients cooked through in the sauce. Thanks for clarifying.
    Am afraid I don’t have the knowledge that eating century eggs raw is harmful. Perhaps, choosing those that are free from lead (some add it for speeding up the curing process) may be a healthier option. Hope this helps.

  21. Helena

    Thank you for having taken account of my feedback ! Anyway the dish turned out successful, all ingredients were thoroughly cooked yet not too much. It’s a very appetizing and comforting vegetarian dish, worth the preparation time 😉 !
    Thanks too for having paid attention to my concern about century eggs. Perhaps am I just a bit paranoiac, but I think one must be careful with changes in the diet ! All the more so chinese food is so different from french food…much more richer in my opinion !