A quick and easy stir fry of Chinese Celery (also called Leaf Celery) with garlic and fish sauce. It's very flavorful and fresh. All you need are 3 ingredients and 15 minutes. Enjoy with rice ^_^
My mom came home with a beautiful bunch of Chinese celery (leaf celery) the other day. She said it was so fresh, how could she not. She bought it from one of the produce vendors at Chinatown (in Honolulu).
I cooked rice in the rice cooker. Mom made this quick stir fry with the celery. I made a side of shoyu hot dogs.
The result? A super fun and happy lunch! It was also a relatively quick and easy lunch because we both had to get back to work.
This Chinese celery recipe is really simple. Just saute minced garlic, add the celery and season with fish sauce. It's bright and crisp and fresh. All the good things, plus that power combo of flavors with garlic and fish sauce ^_^
What Is Chinese Celery?
Chinese celery is also called leaf celery. Compared with western celery, Chinese celery is thinner (with hollow stalks), more elegant and way more flavorful.
Chinese celery is not eaten raw. It's always cooked, and often in a stir fry, soup, or stew. When cooked, it's sweeter and crisper than "regular" celery. Chinese celery also has a lot of leaves that look similar to parsley and tasty very herb-y. So delicious!
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Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Chinese celery (also called leaf celery)
- Garlic - Feel free to use more! Sometimes my mom doubles or triples the amount of garlic. We really love garlic.
- Fish sauce - You can use any brand you like, though our two preferred brands are Red Boat and Three Crabs. Three Crabs was the one we grew up using...I always remember seeing a big bottle of this in my grandma's pantry when I was a kid. Red Boat is a newer brand (relative to Three Crabs) and the quality is great.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Let's get cooking:
First, prepare the Chinese celery (leaf celery). To do this, you just remove the leaves, and peel off the tough outer layer of the stalks. Then slice the celery on the diagonal into 2-inch long pieces. Set aside.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, add a little oil (use a neutral oil like vegetable oil or avocado oil) and saute the minced garlic till golden.
Then add the sliced celery followed by the fish sauce. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
Add ¼ cup of water and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for another 2 minutes.
Then remove from the heat, plate, and serve! I love this with a bowl of rice for a simple and flavorful lunch. At dinner we serve as a vegetable dish and round out the meal with a meat dish and/or good soup.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few simple ideas we like to do:
- Chicken broth or bouillon - In place of water (in Step 4 of the recipe below), you can use chicken broth or water + bouillon. Makes for an extra flavorful dish.
- Spicy - Drizzle on some chili oil right before serving for nice heat!
- Shoyu / soy sauce - No fish sauce? No problem. You can also make this recipe with soy sauce in place of fish sauce. It will have a completely different flavor (it might even be considered a different dish)...but it will still be delicious.
Enjoy and report back ^_^
Top tip
Share something here that you think is key to making this recipe well, such as: Don't overcook the burgers! Sear the outside and cook to a minimum internal temperature, but they should still be juicy for best results.
FAQ
Leftovers can keep in the fridge for 1-2 days. You can reheat it in the microwave or over the stove (saute the Chinese celery on medium-high heat until hot).
It's surprisingly not that easy to find Chinese celery outside of Chinatown in Hawaii. Lots of Chinese produce and ingredients can be found at Korean and Japanese markets in Hawaii, but I've only seen Chinese celery in Chinatown proper.
Many vendors in Honolulu Chinatown sell Chinese celery so we just check out all the vendors and buy from them. There no one vendor I recommend, just visit all the stalls/stores and see which one looks freshest that day.
We didn't use them in this recipe but I also don't like wasting ingredients. You can add the chopped leaves to this stir fry at the very end (they only need a minute or two of cooking).
Chinese Celery Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Chinese celery (leaf celery)
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
Instructions
- First, prepare the Chinese celery (leaf celery): remove the leaves, and peel off the tough outer layer of the stalks.Slice the celery on the diagonal into 2-inch long pieces. Set aside
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add a little oil and saute the minced garlic till golden.
- Then add the sliced celery followed by the fish sauce. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup of water and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, plate, and serve!
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Unlike common celery, Chinese celery is *super* easy (and fast) to grow in a pot at home, so you can have the freshest flavor imaginable. I've often found keiki plants at local farmers' markets on Big Island. Mahalo for this simple and delicious recipe!
Thank you! Love that idea of growing it at home, will definitely give it a try 🙂
- Kathy