十全十美 素十錦 (Ten Ingredient Vegetable)

This is another New Year dish I cook once a year.  There are 10 different vegetables in this disk symbolizing "perfect 10" for good luck.  Each family may use different vegetable as long as you can find 10 different ones.  All the vegetables are chopped into thin strips, so there is a lot of chopping and preparation.  Since I only do it once a year, I usually make a big tray (see the picture!), I will share with my relatives and friends and bring good luck to everyone!

Ingredients:

1. Celery 1 bundle (either Chinese celery or American celery is fine.  I used Chinese celery this year, but I actually like America celery better)
2. Soy Bean Sprouts 1/2 lb
3. Carrots 2
4. 百葉 (thin soy sheet) 4 oz
5. 蒜苗 (Chinese leeks) 3
6. Dry Mushroom 10
7. Bamboo shoot 1 (medium size)
8. 金針菜 (lily flowers) 1/3 cup
9. 木耳 (black wood ears) 1 cup
10. bean curbs 2 squares

Preparation:

1. Soak mushrooms, wood ears and lily flowers for 2 hours
2. Cut 百葉 (4) into 1 in x 1/4 in stripes and  put them in a big bowl of cold water.  Add 1TB 雪鹼水 (sodium carbonate water) in the water.  Take 百葉 out when it turns white and is easy to tear apart, probably 20-30 minutes.  Rinse it thoroughly with cold water.  Don't soak it too long, because it will be too soft.
3. Cut celery into 1.5 inch long strips, remove the long roots of the soy bean spouts (wash them first).

4. Peel the skin of carrots, shred the carrots (3), slice the bamboo shoots (7).  This year, 99 Ranch Market has fresh bamboos for sale with reasonable price.  It is pretty hard to find fresh bamboo any other place, so the frozen one or the canned one are good too.
5. Slice the bean curb horizontally to 4 pieces, then cut them into thin strips (10).
6. Wash black mushrooms, wood ears and lily flowers.  Cut the tip of the lily flowers (8), then cut each one in two half.  Slice black mushrooms (6) and wood ears (9)
7. Chinese leek (蒜苗) is only available during new year time in Chinese supermarkets in LA or other big cities.  I usually use scallions instead.  It just adds some green color to the dish.  But Chinese leek has its own strong flavor and it is a good addition to this dish. Slice the white part of the leek open, then cut it in diagonal direction into thin strips.

Steps:
You need a BIG wok to cook this dish.  Cooking part is easy after you are done with all the chopping.

1. Heat 1TB oil, add 0.5 tsp salt, stir fry soy bean spouts for 5 minutes.  The soy bean on the spout takes a while to cook, you need to taste it and make sure they are cooked.  Take the soy bean spouts out and put them in a big serving tray.
2. Heat 2TB oil, add 0.5 tsp salt, stir fry carrots and celery until carrots are soft. Take them out and put into the big tray.
3. Heat 3TB oil, add 1/2 tsp salt, stir fry black mushrooms for 1 minute, add bamboo shoots, lily flowers, bean curbs and wood ears.  Add 1TB soy sauce, 1TB oyster sauce, 1.5 tsp sugar to season.  Mixed them well for several minutes, add 百葉 and Chinese leek toward the end, continue stir fry until Chinese leek become soft.  
4. Add soy bean spout, carrots, and celery back in, mix them together.  Taste again, if not enough flavor, add a little more salt or soy sauce.  Add 1tsp sesame oil before you take it out.

You can eat this dish cold.  No need to reheat.   It will be fresh for a week in refrigerator.  You can replace any of the ingredients by your favorite Chinese vegetable as long as it doesn't have a lot of juice and it can be sliced into 1.5 inch strips.

Wish everybody a perfect new year!