Ingredients

For the potato birds nest

• 3–4 large-sized roaster potatoes, ( peeled )
• 1 tbsp potato starch or cornflour
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 litres vegetable oil, for deep frying

For the stir fry:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic ( grated )
• 2 tbsp potato starch or cornstarch - (dissolved in 30ml water)
• 3-4 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 40g cauliflower florets
• 40g broccoli florets
• 40g medium carrot - (sliced diagonally)
• 40g sugar snap
• 1 small bell pepper green & red ( diced)
• 1 bunch pak choi (diced)
• 1 medium red onion ( diced )
• 3-4 pieces mushroom ( quartered )
• 4 pieces babycorn - (cut in an angle into 2)
• 10 ml shaoxing cooking wine or dry sherry wine

Tools

• MultiPro Express Weigh+

Method

For the bird's nest:

1. Slice potatoes extremely thin, about 2mm slices and then pile them flat on top of each other and shred into fine straws about 2mm, alternatively using a mandoline with a julienne attachment on your Kentwood processor. Place potato into a large bowl or sieve, rinse in cold water and rinse potatoes well until the water runs clear to remove excess starch. This will help the potatoes to become crispy also.
2. Drain potatoes well and squeeze out excess water then use a paper towel to remove any moisture or you can use the sieve and bowl also
3. Pour 1.5 ltr of vegetable oil into a wok about halfway and heat on high heat, allow the temperature to reach around 170°C or if you add a wooden chopstick the oil will start to bubble in about 5 seconds that should be nearly there.
4. Add potato starch to the potatoes and toss well to combine this will help to stick together and bit easier to take off the baskets later.
5. Dip a larger strainer into the oil, place over the saucepan then add potato evenly around the sides of the strainer to create a bird's nest make sure the potato hangs over the rim of the basket, about 1cm thick. Dip the other strainer in oil give it a shake and place on top.
6. When oil is ready, add strainers and fry until potatoes are golden and crispy, this might take between 5 –10 minutes. When the basket is nearly ready to remove from oil, it should be golden brown and crispy with no soft bits, gently remove the top strainer, use a tip of a knife if any potato is stuck in the strainer and gently and slowly free it from the basket, be gentle so the nest doesn’t break in half. Put the potato nest on a plate with a paper towel to drain off any excess oil, make a few of these in advance and you can also store it in an air-tight container it'll keep for 2 days.

For the vegetable stir-fry:

1. In a large wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add grated garlic until fragrant and add the batch of vegetables that is already prepared and sitting at the side ready for wok: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and sugar snap peas cook covered for about 2-3 minutes, make sure they're all the same size as this will cook more evenly together. Stir fry on a high heat
2. After 2 mins mix the potato starch mixture into the wok and add the oyster sauce or mushroom stir-fry sauce as a plant-based alternative, pepper and bring to a boil you'll start seeing the sauce thinking up and glaze up. cook for another 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp but not overcooked, finish with a drizzle of Chinese cooking wine, and a drizzle of sesame oil
3. Serve hot inside the potato bird's nest