Mysterious Sauce

September 28, 2024

Mysterious Sauce © kvalifood.com

A complex Vietnamese sauce loaded with ingredients - crab, shrimp, mushrooms, lotus seeds, asparagus, and more. It’s called “mysterious” because of the sheer number of components. The sauce is thickened with arrowroot starch and has layers of seafood, vegetable, and mushroom flavour.

Ingredients

Shallots, grated
Garlic, grated
Red chilli, chopped
Crab meat
Shrimp, diced
Fragrant mushrooms (shiitake)
Cloud ear mushrooms
Lotus seeds
Carrot
Green asparagus, thinly sliced
Arrowroot starch
Oil, for frying
Seaweed

Directions

Heat a little oil in a wok or large pan. Add the grated shallots, grated garlic, and chopped red chilli, and cook until lightly browned and fragrant.
Add the crab meat, diced shrimp, sliced carrot, and lotus seeds. Stir-fry until the seafood is cooked through.
Pour in enough water to create a sauce base and bring to a gentle simmer.
Add the fragrant mushrooms, cloud ear mushrooms, and sliced green asparagus. Cook until the vegetables are just tender.
Mix the arrowroot starch with a splash of cold water to make a slurry. Stir it into the sauce to thicken.
Add the seaweed, stir through, and remove from heat.