I say this understandingly: vegetables aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. If I had to choose between a savory steak or a salad, I’d likely go for the former (although it would be ideal to have it served WITH a salad). BUT as we all know, since we need vegetables in a well-balanced, nutritious diet, there’s no avoiding them! What we CAN avoid though, is serving vegetables in the most boring way, when they can be made exciting just like our meats. We just need to learn to cook vegetables and combine them with ingredients that make them more fun and interesting to our palates!
Having said that, one of my all time favorite green leafy vegetables is Chinese broccoli or GAI LAN. While I do enjoy gai lan served by itself, either blandly blanched in boiling water or with subtle hints of salt and a light coating of oil, my kids aren’t the biggest fans! They find this unique vegetable more palatable when topped with a sauce made with none other than umami oyster sauce.
What is Gai Lan?
Chinese broccoli, which is referred to as “gai lan” in Cantonese and “jie lan” in Mandarin, is a green leafy vegetable that possesses long, thick stems and sometimes small flower buds. You may have come across bags of larger and matured gai lan at the Asian supermarket, as well as baby gai lan, which are typically shorter with thinner stems. What makes this vegetable so interesting is it tastes sweet, yet bitter, with an extremely crunchy stem. They may appear aesthetically dull prior to cooking, but they go through a complete makeover and emerge from boiling water with a vibrant, green hue upon blanching for a few minutes. Be sure not to overcook gai lan, as it turns a brownish-green hue if set in boiling water too long!
There’s a reason why gai lan is referred to as Chinese broccoli! They taste similar. However, I do find gai lan to be more on the bitter side and your usual broccoli to be more on the sweeter side. And did you know that broccolini is a hybrid of gai lan and broccoli? I wonder if the cross between these 2 veggies justify broccolini’s price!
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10 Min Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce Recipe (Gai Lan) 蠔油芥籣
Ingredients
FOR THE CHINESE BROCCOLI:
- 7 cups water
- 1 lb baby gai lan (Chinese broccoli) washed and trimmed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
FOR THE SAUCE:
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 3 cloves garlic roughly minced
- ½ thumb ginger cut into matchsticks
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Bring 7 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp of salt and 1 tbsp neutral oil
- Transfer gai lan into boiling water, fully submerged, and boil for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes, strain the gai lan and set aside on a plate.
- For the sauce: Heat 1 tbsp of oil on a pan, swirling to coat evenly. Add garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds. Add 3 tbsp oyster sauce and 2 tbsp of water. Stir until ingredients are well blended then add 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp sesame oil. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour sauce onto gai lan and enjoy!
Video
Notes
PRODUCTS USED OR RECOMMENDED FOR RECIPE:
- Oyster Sauce – https://amzn.to/3yGIHf0
- Sesame Oil – https://amzn.to/3pWPFFA
- Pot – https://amzn.to/3AqO833
- Colander – https://amzn.to/3ygXX0Q
- Wok – https://amzn.to/3xBnq5O
- Measuring Spoons – https://amzn.to/3bb5YKK
- Tongs – https://amzn.to/3occmVy
