The Hirshon Dim Sum Chinese Broccoli - 芥蘭

Gai Lan Image Used Under Creative Commons License From steamykitchen.com

Citizens, your beloved leader – I, the indefatigable TFD – am a huge fan of dim sum, aka “little packages that tug at the heart” (that is actually the translation of dim sum in Chinese!). I’ve been a regular at my local Dim Sum eatery for the last 18 years now, and in recognition of my status am never forced to wait for a table. 🙂

While I typically go for the steamed dim sum, Gai lan (Chinese broccoli) is the one vegetable that I never pass up! At dim sum houses, it is always served boiled or steamed with an oyster sauce dressing that I find totally irresistible.

Gai lan is a leaf vegetable featuring thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems with flower heads, similar to but much smaller than broccoli. Broccoli and gai lan belong to the same species – its flavor is very similar to that of broccoli, but slightly more bitter. It is also noticeably stronger. FYI, Broccolini is actually a hybrid between broccoli and gai lan, produced by the Mann Packing Company, Inc.

When selecting gai lan, I urge you to follow the directions found on the fantastic blog of steamykitchen.com:

It’s easy to pick out the best Gai Lan, or to see if it is fresh and tender. Select a bunch, look at the ends of the stalk. If they are dry, crusted and shriveled. Don’t buy. The middle of the stalk should ideally be one color – a creamy, translucent color. If you see a solid white circle in the middle of the stalk, it may mean the Gai Lan is a little old. It still could be good – look at the leaves and the buds for more clues to how fresh it is. Why is this so important? You briefly steam the Gai Lan so that it is tender crisp, so if the vegetable is old, you’ll really taste the bitterness.

Most Gai Lan have white flowers, though there are varieties that include both white and yellow flowers (probably a cross between gai lan and Chinese greens called yu choy) The flower buds should be tight and compact – there should be buds not open flowers. Lots and lots of open flowers means the stalk is older and past its prime for eating and it will be more bitter and chewy.

My recipe is quite traditional, !

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Dim Sum Chinese Broccoli – 芥蘭

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Ingredients

Scale

For the gai lan:
1lb gai lan (chinese broccoli)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 inch ginger (1 inch piece, peeled)
For the sauce:
6 large garlic cloves, peeled
½ tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp chicken stock
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
½ tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola or peanut)
½ tsp sugar

Instructions

Gai Lan: Rinse gai lan and trim the end of the stems. Bring eight cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan or stock pot.
Stir in salt, baking soda, garlic and ginger. Add gai lan. Cover and simmer about 4 minutes, until the gai lan turns bright green and is tender-crisp. Drain.
In a large wok or pan (large enough to hold all stalks), heat the cooking oil over medium heat. When the oil is just starting to get hot (the garlic should sizzle upon contact) add the whole garlic cloves and let them fry until golden brown on all sides.
Be careful not to burn the garlic, you just want to toast them – if the garlic starts turning dark brown, turn the heat to low. Toasting the garlic should take about 2 minutes.
Turn the heat to high and add the ginger, fry for 30 seconds. Add the gai lan stalks and use your spatula to scoop up the oil so that every stalk has been bathed with the ginger/garlic-infused oil for 30 seconds.
Remove the gai lan to a plate, leaving any remaining stock mixture in the wok. Stack the Chinese broccoli together and cut into 4″/10cm lengths and stack on top of each other.
To the wok, add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, shaoxing, sugar, stock/cornstarch mixture and sesame oil and thicken over high heat for 1 minute. Pour the sauce mixture over the gai lan and serve.