By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 20 minutes to prep the turnips and other ingredients, 7 minutes for stir-frying
- Prep Time
- Stir-fries are last-minute dishes as far as cooking goes but you can prepare all of your ingredients hours in advance. Keep in the refrigerator until 15 to 30 minutes before you cook.
- Rating
- 4(103)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The fresh ginger I’m finding at springtime farmers’ markets is new and juicy, like the spring garlic and onions. I’m sure this is going to be just one of many springtime stir-fries, but right now it’s a favorite. It’s inspired by an irresistible bunch of baby turnips I bought at a Sunday farmers’ market. The turnips were no bigger than a small round radish, but their greens were lush – I had about 6 cups of leaves after I’d stripped them from the stems. Sweet spring onions and green garlic contrast beautifully with the bitter flavor of the turnip greens.
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 3 (4 if there are other dishes)
- 7ounces firm tofu (½ of a14-ounce box), drained and cut in dominoes (about ¼-inch thick by 2 inches long)
- 1bunch baby turnips, with greens (about 1 pound total)
- 1 to 2tablespoons soy sauce (to taste)
- 1tablespoon Chinese cooking sherry (Shaoxing rice wine) or dry sherry
- ¼cup chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
- 1teaspoon honey or agave nectar
- 2tablespoons peanut, canola, rice bran, sunflower or grape seed oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1bulb green garlic, papery shells removed, minced
- 1tablespoon minced ginger
- 1bunch spring onions or 2 to 3 bunches scallions, sliced, white and light green parts only, sliced (about 1¼ cups)
- ½cup coarsely chopped cilantro
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)
199 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 498 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Drain and dry tofu slices on paper towels. In a small bowl or measuring cup combine soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, stock or water, and honey or agave nectar. Have all ingredients within arm’s length of your wok.
Step
2
Cut away greens from baby turnips. Scrub turnips and if very small, cut in half; if larger than a Ping-Pong ball, quarter. Stem greens, wash leaves in 2 changes of water and chop coarsely. Set aside near your wok.
Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of the oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add tofu and stir-fry until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to a plate.
Step
4
Swirl in remaining oil, add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds. Add onions and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add turnips and stir-fry for another minute or 2, then add salt and pepper, toss together and add soy sauce mixture. Add greens and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Step
5
Return tofu to the wok along with the cilantro. Stir-fry for 1 minute and remove from heat. Serve with hot grains or noodles.
- If you can't find baby turnips, substitute small regular turnips and peel and dice (into about ½- or 1-inch pieces), and use kale for the greens.
Ratings
4
out of 5
103
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Robert B
Delicious - love baby turnips in general and this was a good way to use them.
kira
Added Chinese broccoli and baked the tofu after tossing it in soy sauce, canola oil, Chinese 5 spice and black pepper. Served over udon noodles, it was delicious!
Anne Pelak
Except for the turnip greens, I had all ingredients on hand, most from my weekly CSA. I used wild spinach (lambsquarter) as the green. Very good! I think this would work well with parsnips too.
Nancy
I was a bit concerned about the instructions regarding the cooking of the turnips. I cooked them slightly more , about 4 minutes total. But they did have crunch in the end. I realized that is very important for this recipe to work. The baby turnips are sweet and the slight crunch allows the sweetness to come through. It makes for a much more interesting dish, texturally and they hold up well to the bold flavors. An excellent way to prepare baby turnips.
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