Chinese Seafood Bird Nest, A Chinese Banquet Dish

Ingredients

• 4 cups taro peeled, julienned
• 6 cups canola oil for frying
• 6 large shrimp peeled and deveined, 16 to 20 size, or about 6 ounces by weight
• 6 sea scallops or large diver, about 6 ounces by weight
• 6 ounces squid whole, cleaned
• 3 tablespoons canola oil divided
• 8 fresh ginger slices, ⅛-inch thick
• 2 scallions white parts only, sliced at an angle into 1½-inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 1/2 carrot cut into a star pattern about ⅛-inch thick
• 1/2 cup bamboo shoots rinsed and drained
• 1/4 red bell pepper a whole, cut into 1-inch slices
• 1/2 cup straw mushrooms (fresh or canned)
• 1 cup sugar snap peas tips removed
• 1 small red onion cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with 1½ tablespoons warm water, optional)