Watercress is a familiar ingredient in daily meals with equally attractive stir-fried dishes. Let’s join TasteVN in the kitchen to learn 3 irresistible ways to make stir-fried watercress with shrimp, garlic, and beef!
1. Stir-fried watercress with shrimp
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Stir-fried Watercress with Shrimp For 2 people
Watercress 300 gr Fresh shrimp 200 gr Chicken thigh mushrooms 100 gr Garlic 10 cloves Chili 1 piece Chopped shallots 1 tablespoon Cilantro 2 sprigs Oyster sauce 2 tablespoons Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Chili powder 1/2 tablespoon Salt/ MSG a little
How to choose fresh and delicious shrimp
- Choose shrimp that have shiny shells, firm bodies, hard heads tightly attached to the body, legs firmly attached to the body, and firm meat.
- Avoid choosing shrimp that are slimy or have legs that have turned black as these are signs that they are no longer fresh.
- Do not buy shrimp with tails that are spread out, loose, missing fins, and not neatly arranged together as these may indicate that the shrimp have been caught for a while and soaked in preservatives.
See details: How to choose fresh, sweet shrimp
How to make Stir-fried Watercress with Shrimp
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Prepare the ingredients
Remove wilted and wormy leaves from the watercress, then rinse it clean with water. After that, cut into pieces about 4 – 5cm long.
Soak the chicken thigh mushrooms in salted water for 5 minutes, then rinse them in clean water, cutting away any spoiled parts, black spots, and dirt. Slice the mushrooms diagonally into bite-sized pieces.
Cut the bell pepper into strips about 0.5cm long. Chop the cilantro finely. Crush the garlic, peel it, and chop it small.
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Marinate the shrimp
Peel the fresh shrimp, remove the intestinal vein, and marinate with 1/4 spoon of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of shallots, and 1 teaspoon of cilantro for about 15 minutes for the shrimp to absorb the seasoning.
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Sauté the ingredients
Heat a pan on the stove, add about 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to the pan. When the oil starts to heat up, add 1/2 of the garlic and sauté until fragrant over medium heat.
Then add the shrimp and stir until the shrimp starts to firm up and turns light pink, then add the chicken thigh mushrooms to sauté together. Season with 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, stir well for about 5 – 7 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked, then turn off the heat and transfer the ingredients to a plate.
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Sauté the watercress
Using the same pan from the shrimp, add another 2 tablespoons of cooking oil along with the remaining garlic to the pan, and sauté until fragrant over medium heat.
Next, add the watercress, season with 1/3 tablespoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and mix well for the vegetables to absorb the seasoning. Finally, add the chili, stir for about 2 – 3 minutes, then turn off the heat.
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Final product
The vegetables are both crunchy and sweet combined with the firm shrimp meat, along with a bit of spiciness from the chili powder, making the dish more fragrant and appealing.
2. Stir-fried Watercress with Garlic
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Preparation
10 minutes
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Cooking
15 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Stir-fried Watercress with Garlic Serves 2
Watercress 1 bunch Garlic 6 cloves Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Oyster sauce 1 tablespoon Common seasonings a little (Sugar/MSG/seasoning powder/ground pepper)
How to choose fresh, good garlic
- To buy fresh, good garlic, you should choose bulbs that are firm to the touch, with medium-sized cloves, plump stems, and not dried or wrinkled.
- Garlic bulbs with intact outer skin, a slightly white color, and a natural aroma are good garlic to buy.
- Avoid choosing bulbs that are bruised, leaking water, have gray or yellow stems, feel soft to the touch, or have wrinkled, not taut skins as they may be old, making them not tasty.
How to cook Stir-fried Watercress with Garlic
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Prepare the ingredients
After purchasing, remove any wilted leaves and the old root ends of the watercress, keeping only the tender stems.
Then, wash the vegetables several times with water and soak them in diluted salt water for about 10 minutes. Next, rinse them again with clean water and let them drain.
Peel the garlic and then crush it.
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Stir-fried watercress
You place a pan on the stove, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Wait for the oil to heat up, then add the crushed garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Next, add the watercress and stir-fry over high heat until the watercress wilts, then season with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, stir well.
Then, add 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and a little water, continue to stir well until the watercress is cooked, then adjust the seasoning to taste, turn off the stove.
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Final Product
Fresh, crisp watercress blended with the fragrant taste of garlic seasoned just right will surely make you fall in love.
What are you waiting for? Serve the stir-fried watercress with garlic on a plate and enjoy it with hot rice right away; although the method is extremely simple, it is really delicious!
3. Stir-Fried Watercress with Beef
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Stir-Fried Watercress with Beef For 2 people
Watercress 300 gr Beef 100 gr Onion 1 bulb Sesame oil 1 teaspoon Oyster sauce 1 teaspoon Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Seasoning a little (sugar/ salt/ seasoning powder/ pepper) Chopped garlic 60 gr
How to choose fresh and delicious beef
- Choose pieces of meat that are bright red, with fine and smooth fibers, and have the characteristic aroma of beef; the fat should be light yellow and should not stick when pressed with your hand, with good elasticity.
- If the meat has grains like rice inside the fibers, it is very likely that it is tapeworms, and you should absolutely not buy it.
- Do not choose beef that is slimy, has a foul smell, lacks elasticity, or has dark blue spots, or the meat appears pale green. This could be beef that has been stored for too long, or from a dead or sick cow.
- It is advisable to buy a whole piece of meat; do not buy pre-sliced meat as it is difficult to distinguish fresh meat.
How to prepare Stir-fried Watercress with Beef
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Prepare the ingredients
You soak the beef in diluted salt water for about 10 minutes, then take it out, rinse it 2 – 3 more times with water, and then use a clean towel to dry the beef. After that, cut the beef into thin slices for eating.
Wash the watercress, remove the wilted leaves and any pests. Cut the onion into wedges and peel and chop the garlic.
Tips to prepare beef without a foul smell
- For thinly sliced beef: You should not prepare or wash the beef too thoroughly, as doing so will cause some nutrients in the beef to dissolve in the water and be lost during the cooking process.
- For whole pieces of beef: You can use white wine, ginger, salt, lemon, or vinegar, then rub it onto the meat and let it sit for about 5 – 10 minutes before rinsing it clean with water.
- Additionally, while marinating the meat, you can roast a shallot, peel it, mash it, and marinate it with the beef to effectively eliminate the foul smell.
See more: Simple tips to eliminate odors for all types of meat
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Marinate the beef
Marinate the beef with 1 spoon of sesame oil, 1 spoon of seasoning, 1 spoon of oyster sauce, 1.5 spoons of sugar, 1/2 spoon of pepper, and 20g of minced garlic. Mix all the ingredients well and marinate for about 10 – 15 minutes for the meat to absorb the spices.
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Stir-fry the beef
Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil into a pan, add 20g of garlic and sauté until fragrant over medium heat. When the garlic turns golden, add the beef and stir-fry over high heat to prevent the beef from releasing water, stir until the beef is slightly firm, then add the onion and stir well. At this point, the beef should be cooked, and the onion slightly translucent, then turn off the heat, remove the beef and onion onto a plate.
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Stir-fried watercress
Continue using the skillet from the beef, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and the remaining garlic, sauté until fragrant over medium heat.
Then add the watercress to the skillet, stir-fry over high heat until the vegetables begin to soften, then season with 2 teaspoons of seasoning, 1/3 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, stir well for about 3 minutes until the vegetables are cooked, then add the beef and onion and stir for another 2 minutes before turning off the heat.
Tip: Stir-frying vegetables over high heat helps retain their green color, making the dish more visually appealing.
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Final product
Fresh, crunchy, and sweet watercress served with onion and well-seasoned beef creates a harmonious flavor. This dish is best enjoyed with hot rice for enhanced taste!
How to choose fresh watercress
- To buy fresh watercress, you should choose bunches that have a bright green color, stems of moderate size, and leaves that are not wilted or yellowed.
- Fresh watercress usually has a distinctive aroma and when you press the stem with your fingernail, it feels soft.
- Avoid buying bunches of watercress with excessively thick stems, many roots, yellowed leaves, or if pressing the stem with your fingernail feels hard and dry, as this may indicate that the vegetable is old and will not taste good.
TasteVN hopes that with the 3 ways to make garlic stir-fried watercress, shrimp, and beef above will help you successfully prepare a stir-fry dish with a refreshing, delicious flavor that is also nutritious to treat your family!
