Photo From Cooking SenseiOriginally Posted On: https://cookingsensei.com/chinese-broccoli-with-oyster-sauce-recipe/
Chinese Broccoli or Gai Lan (芥蓝) as some may call it, is a common vegetable that is often paired with oyster sauce at any Dim Sum restaurant. It is extremely simple to make as it only uses a few ingredients. With soft and tender leaves and a nice crunchy stem, this is something that will definitely impress your friends and family.
If you ever been to any Dim Sum or “Yum Cha” restaurants, then you’ll know that one of the only leafy vegetables you can get at that place is something called a Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) with oyster sauce on it.
It is a simple dish to make that provides a ton of flavor and depth from the vegetable and sauce.
In fact, many Chinese recipes that are about vegetables are actually really simple. For instance, you have cucumber salad, cabbage stir fry, avocado and tofu, and more are all really simple dishes to make that uses very few ingredients.
This Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce dish is one of them.
It is a dish that can be made in a short amount of time and will be able to impress both your friends and family.
Now unlike some other recipe websites who claims that you have to use a whole bunch of ingredients for this dish, they are just plain wrong. This is a simple dish that doesn’t need too many fancy ingredients.
I will be showing you how to make this the authentic way.
Ingredients You’ll Need For This DishMaking this dish is very simple as it really only uses very minimal ingredients.
The ingredients you’ll need are as followed:
- 1 bunch of Chinese Broccoli
- 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- Oyster Sauce
Optional Ingredients If You Want To Add Are:
- 1 Teaspoon Sugar/Salt
That’s basically it!
As you can see, you use only a very few amount of ingredients to make this dish.
Now for this recipe, we are only going to be using 3 ingredients.
Chinese Broccoli, Vegetable Oil and Oyster Sauce.
But in this post, I will also be showing you how to use the optional ingredients as well so you all can have some options.
Choosing Your Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan)If you ever been to an Asian supermarket, you’ll notice that there is more than one type of Chinese Broccoli.
You have both the regular kind and also the more tender and soft Baby Chinese Broccoli.
And in all honesty, both of these will work equally well.
The only difference is that for the regular version of the Broccoli, you’ll have to prep it a bit before you can use it.
And when you choose your broccoli, make sure it doesn’t have any yellow leaves or flowers as this will usually mean your broccoli is pretty old.
You always want to find ones where they are vibrantly green in color.
How To Prep Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan)If you buy the regular version of Chinese Broccoli which if you didn’t know how it looks like, basically think of kale leaves on top of a thick green stem. You’ll have to prep it a bit before you can use it.
And to prep it is actually a pretty simple thing to do.
All you really have to do is to cut off the ends of the Chinese Broccoli. The reason for this is because the end parts are tough and chewy, sort of like asparagus. So you’ll want to get rid of that part.
Then give it a good wash and pat it dry.
Now you can start using your Chinese Broccoli.
How To Make Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) With Oyster SauceMaking this dish is a really simple process that doesn’t take up too much time.
Assuming you have prepped your Chinese broccoli, grab a large pot and fill it with water and then boil it.
Once it starts to boil, you’ll want to add in your vegetable oil straight into the water. Do not worry, nothing will happen.
Optional Step: This step is purely optional, but if you want your vegetables to remain super green then add in some sugar or salt into the water. Either one will work. I skipped this step because I was lazy.
Once the water is boiling really well, take your Chinese broccoli and place them inside the pot carefully. Do not throw them in as it may splash some water/oil onto you.
Let it cook for a few minutes.
During this time, you’ll want to use some chopsticks or tongs to help submerge the Chinese Broccoli so that they can evenly and completely cook.
You’ll know it is done when the texture appears to be tender but yet still gives off a nice crunchy vibe.
Or if you want your Chinese broccoli to be super soft, then you can leave it to cook for a little while longer.
Once your Chinese Broccoli is done cooking, you can scoop them out gently and place them on a plate.
After that, you’ll want to drizzle some oyster sauce over your Chinese Broccoli and serve!
See that wasn’t too hard now was it?
It only takes a few minutes and you’ll be able to have some super delicious veggies to eat!
Chinese Broccoli With Oyster Sauce (芥蓝)Chinese Broccoli or Gai Lan (芥蓝) as some may call it, is a common vegetable that is often paired with oyster sauce at any Dim Sum restaurant. It is extremely simple to make as it only uses a few ingredients. With soft and tender leaves and a nice crunchy stem, this is something that will definitely impress your friends and family.Ingredients- 1 Bunch Chinese Broccoli
- 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- Oyster Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Sugar or Salt
Grab a large pot and boil some water. Once it starts to boil, you’ll want to add in your vegetable oil.
Optional: You can also add in your sugar or salt at this time as well.
- Once the water starts to boil rapidly, you can place your Chinese Broccoli into the water. Place them slowly so that they don’t splash any water onto you.
- Use a pair of chopsticks or tongs or anything else you can find to help submerge the Chinese Broccoli into the water. Let them cook for about a few minutes until they get tender but still a bit crunchy.
- Once they finish cooking, take the Chinese Broccoli out of the water. Shake off any excess water that may be on them and then put them onto a plate.
- Drizzle some oyster sauce over them and serve.
