Leftover-Vegetable Chap Chye
This leftover-vegetable chap chye is made entirely from my weekly box of leftover-vegetable scraps. Chap chye is a Chinese-style mixed braised vegetable stew. If you have leftover cabbage alongside assorted veggies & mushrooms at the end of the week, put them together to make an unconventional but tasty “chap chye”.
See Also:
- Chinese Chap Chye (Mixed Vegetables Stew)
- Stir-fry Vegetables (Yasai Itame)
- Stir-fry Bean Sprouts, Chives & Ikea Meatballs
- Claypot Thai Glass Noodles with Prawns
INSIDE MY LEFTOVER-VEGETABLE CHAP CHYE POT
- Veggies – cabbage is a must to make this a chap chye. I also added carrot & snow peas.
- Aromatics – ginger, onion & garlic chives
- Mushrooms – king oyster mushroom, enoki mushroom & shimeji mushroom
- Noodles – mung bean vermicelli/glass noodles (tang hoon)
- Sauce – stock (chicken or dashi), soy sauce & oyster sauce
SECRET INGREDIENT – JAPANESE CRISPY GARLIC CHILLI OIL
This Japanese crispy garlic chilli oil is my kitchen’s latest MVP. It’s a versatile condiment that works with non-Japanese cooking too. In this recipe, I am using the Momoya brand, the right bottle in the picture above. I bought it at Don Don Donki (SG). In true leftover-cooking fashion, I was actually using up the last bit of the chilli oil, and I was surprised that my chap chye tasted so much more delicious! I’d definitely add a spoonful of this chilli oil every time I make chap chye in future.
Besides the Momoya brand, I also have the S&B brand of crispy garlic chilli oil (left bottle above) in my pantry. You can find it at selected Sheng Siong outlets. While the Momoya’s chilli oil is spicy but not hot, S&B is spicy and hot. Whichever brand I use depends on the dish I am making, who I am cooking for and my mood for the day :p
The closest Chinese ingredient substitute for this is XO sauce. Don’t worry, you don’t need to make any substitution if you don’t have the crispy garlic chilli oil. You probably need to add a bit more seasonings to taste at the end of cooking.
MAKE LEFTOVER-VEGETABLE CHAP CHYE POT
Note: You can use a wokpan, frying pan or any heat-resistant claypot or casserole.
First, cook assorted leftover vegetables including cabbage in a wokpan (I am using a 23 cm/9-inch claypot). Add mung bean vermicilli (tang hoon) and prepared sauce (pictured above). After this, simmer down until the most of the sauce is reduced.
Season the chap chye to taste with about 1 tbsp Japanese crispy garlic chilli oil. Stir through to coat the contents evenly in the chilli oil.
Stir in some garlic chives while the casserole is still hot…
… and the dish is completed! Even though there are mung bean noodles in my casserole, this dish actually goes well with rice, in the true fashion of a chap chye. You have a choice to either eat it on its own as a one-dish meal, or enjoy it as a side-dish with rice.
Leftover-Vegetable Chap Chye Recipe
To call this dish a ‘chap chye’ (Chinese simmered vegetables), cabbage and mung bean vermicelli (tang hoon) are a must. You can substitute the rest of the vegetables and mushrooms with any leftovers you have in the fridge.
Make this dish in a wokpan and transfer it to a large serving bowl to serve. To cook and serve this directly in one pot, I recommend a wide and shallow casserole such as a Japanese nabe or a claypot. I am using a 23 cm/9-inch metal non-stick claypot.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 onion cut to wedges
- 3 slices ginger
- 4 slices carrot
- 1 king oyster mushroom sliced thinly
- 1/4 (150g cabbage) cut to 5 cm (2 inch) pieces
- 50g mixed enoki + hon shimeji mushrooms ends trimmed
- 15 snow peas ends snapped & ‘strings’ pulled
- 30g dried mung bean vermicelli (tang hoon) soaked in water until softened, drained
- 1 tbsp Japanese crispy garlic chilli oil to taste; optional
- a handful garlic chives (leafy green portion) cut to equal short lengths
(A) Sauce
- 250ml chicken or dashi stock see cooking note below
- 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- a dash white pepper powder
Directions:
- Cook aromatics & king oyster mushroom. Heat oil in a wok pan or a non-stick casserole. Add onions, ginger and king oyster mushroom. Stir fry briefly until the onions start to soften.
- Add cabbage, enoki + hon shimji mushrooms and 2 tbsp of the prepared sauce. Stir fry until the cabbage starts to soften, then cover with lid to steam for 2 minutes.
- Finish cooking the chap chye. Add snow peas, mung bean vermicilli and the rest of the prepared sauce. Stir through to mix well, and simmer sown until most of the sauce is reduced. Season to taste with Japanese chilli garlic oil, 1 tsp at a time. Stir in the chives while the contents are still hot.
Cooking Note(s)
- Soup stock. You can use tetra-pak chicken stock, or hot water mixed with chicken consomme. For dashi stock, you can use a dashi soup pack, or hot water mixed with instant dashi powder. You can also use mushroom stock (hot water mixed with mushroom seasoning powder).
- Japanese crispy garlic chilli oil. This is a Japanese condiment which you can find at Japanese supermarkets. The closest Chinese ingredient substitute for this is XO sauce. Don’t worry, you don’t need to make any substitution if you don’t have this ingredient. Just season to taste if needed at the end of cooking.