Stir-Fried Sea Cucumber Gut with Celery and Water Chestnut

Why people make this dish

Gui hua bang — the gut of large sea cucumber — has a crisp, springy texture and is lovely in hotpot or stir-fried with celery. Like sea cucumber itself, it contains no fat or cholesterol, which makes it a fitting choice for people minding blood lipids, cholesterol and blood pressure. It is available at Chinese or Asian grocers and specialist seafood suppliers. Paired with crunchy water chestnut and celery — both traditionally associated with supporting healthy blood pressure — it becomes a fine dish for those watching their pressure.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• Suits those minding their blood pressure, blood lipids or cholesterol, and anyone who enjoys a crisp, light seafood stir-fry
• If you have a shellfish or seafood allergy, try only a small amount first; sea cucumber gut is generally low in the allergenic proteins, but caution is wise

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Sea cucumber gut (gui hua bang): crisp-textured; free of fat and cholesterol, traditionally favored for those watching blood pressure and lipids
• Celery (xi qin): long associated in tradition with supporting healthy blood pressure
• Water chestnut (ma ti): crisp and cooling; traditionally associated with supporting healthy blood pressure

Ingredients (2–3 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Sea cucumber gut (gui hua bang)	~225 g	cut into segments
Celery	~150 g	de-stringed, cut
Water chestnuts	6	peeled, sliced
Garlic, ginger, scallion (minced/chopped)	1 tsp each	—
Cooking wine + seasoning	to taste	—

Method

1. Rinse the gui hua bang, cut into segments, and lightly marinate in ginger juice, wine and light soy sauce.
2. Rinse the celery, strip away the tough strings, and cut into pieces. Peel and slice the water chestnuts.
3. Bring water to a boil, blanch the gui hua bang briefly, then lift out and drain at once.
4. Heat 2 tbsp oil, fry the minced garlic and ginger until fragrant, add celery and water chestnut and stir-fry. Return the gui hua bang to the wok, splash in cooking wine, season and toss, scatter in the scallion, give a few quick stirs, and serve.

Bro Niu’s tips

Gui hua bang does not take well to long cooking, so it is best blanched first — or passed briefly through warm oil — to keep it at its crisp, tender best.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (妹妹 / reader): Can someone with a seafood allergy eat gui hua bang and sea cucumber? Bro Niu: Shrimp, crab and some scaleless fish more often carry the allergenic proteins. Sea cucumber is mainly collagen and seems to carry few. So you might try a small amount first — if you don’t react, you’ll know you can eat sea cucumber and its gut.
• Q (DIDI): Does the gut have sand in it, and is it troublesome to clean? Is there fake gui hua bang on the market? Bro Niu: Gui hua bang has no sand and is very clean and easy to handle. I haven’t seen fake gui hua bang for sale — this crisp sea-cucumber gut is rather hard to imitate.

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Published March 2, 2010 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 2 min read.