Celery, Cucumber and Fish Cake Stir-Fry

Why people make this stir-fry

In Chinese food-therapy tradition, high blood pressure is often associated with what practitioners call “liver heat” — a constitutional pattern marked by stress, a diet heavy in salty or fatty foods, and a sedentary lifestyle. Nourilo likes to point out that prevention starts long before any diagnosis: choosing more vegetables, less meat, and less salt is one of the simplest things a family can do together. This colourful stir-fry brings together celery (one of the most celebrated vegetables in Chinese food medicine for supporting calm blood flow), cool cucumber, and light homemade fish cakes — a genuinely tasty dish that happens to carry centuries of rationale behind it.

Method

1. Mix the minced dace fish with salt, white pepper, cornstarch and egg white. Stir vigorously until the paste becomes smooth and slightly elastic.
2. Lightly oil a pan and pan-fry small rounds of the fish paste over medium heat until golden. Remove and cut into diamond shapes. Set aside.
3. Wash and slice the celery. Slice the cucumber. Blanch the straw mushrooms briefly in boiling water to remove any raw taste.
4. Heat a little oil in a wok. Stir-fry the minced ginger until fragrant, then add the celery, cucumber slices and mushrooms. Stir-fry over high heat for 1–2 minutes.
5. Return the fish cakes to the wok, splash in a little rice wine, season to taste, and toss everything together for another minute. Serve immediately.

Nourilo’s Tips

Celery is one of the most useful vegetables for anyone watching their blood pressure — Nourilo suggests keeping some on hand and juicing it with a little apple when you need a quick, cooling drink. If you use a blender instead of a juicer, just add a splash of cold boiled water first to help it blend smoothly; apple makes it much more pleasant to drink. Remember: a low-salt, moderate-fat daily diet is the foundation — this dish is a delicious part of that approach.