An Easy Chinese Broccoli Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do Chinese restaurants get broccoli so crispy? ›

The Chinese broccoli needs to cook as fast as possible, so that the nutrients and color don't have as much opportunity to leach out into the water. It's best to start with as much boiling water as you can. Restaurants serve amazingly green and crunchy Chinese broccoli because they use huge amounts of boiling water.

All parts of Chinese broccoli are edible. Before cooking, trim off the bottom end roughly half to one-inch. For thicker stems, you can dice them or slice on diagonal. The stems require longer cook time than the leafy parts so saute the stems first.

Though Chinese broccoli has a distinct taste and texture, you can substitute it with a number of other greens, including yu choy, bok choy, and broccolini.

Chinese restaurants often incorporate garlic, ginger, and soy sauce to add depth and flavor to the broccoli. You can also add a dash of sesame oil or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for an added kick.

Chinese broccoli is one of the world's most nutritious vegetables, brandishing the highest calcium content of any food. It is also rich with iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Beta carotene is no stranger to this deep green ingredient, which can help prevent age-related macular degeneration (or ARMD).

The scientific name for gai lan is Brassica oleracea L. variation alboglabra. You may hear it called Chinese broccoli, Chinese kale, kie lan, or jie lan. And these names make sense — the plant originated in China, and gai lan looks like a cross between broccoli and kale.

Chinese broccoli is also known as Chinese kale, floweing kale (English) kailan (Cantonese), Gai lan, Jie lan (Mandarin), cai rô (Vietnamese), and Kat Na (Khmer). This crop resembles our more familiar broccoli with a longer stem and very small head.

Listen to pronunciation. (kroo-SIH-feh-rus VEJ-tuh-bul)

Finally, when the magnesium is leached out of the chlorophyll, the chlorophyll goes dull and the vegetables turn grayish. Because baking soda lessens the acidity of the cooking water, it also slows down the chlorophyll dulling process, thereby keeping the veggies greener for longer.

Chinese broccoli pairs very well with grilled fish filet and a side of rice. Like most Asian vegetables, chinese broccoli is a great addition to any stiry fry. For a simple, but delicious green on the side, steam chinese broccoli in boiling water for about 4 minutes.

What is oyster sauce made of? ›

Traditionally, oysters are slowly simmered in water until the liquid caramelizes into a viscous, dark black-brown sauce. But to speed up the process, some commercialized versions are instead made with oyster extracts, plus salt, sugar, corn starch and caramel coloring.

To avoid soggy broccolis try steaming it for 2 minutes and check the texture, if required cook for a minute more but not more than that. After this, you put the boiled broccoli into ice water, the constant shock will make them crispy.

You can soak the broccoli in a bowl of ice water for 30 minutes or more to help it regain its firmness. Another method is to slice off a portion of the stem and place the remaining stem and crown in a pot with a cup of water. Store it in the fridge overnight, and the broccoli will be crisp and fresh in the morning.

To keep broccoli crisp, don't overcook it. I prefer to either steam it or wok fry it to keep it from overcooking. It doesn't take very long in a wok, maybe a few minutes, and steaming takes about 5.

What are those crunchy things in your stir-fry? They're water chestnuts, and they're surprisingly good for you! You probably already know a few things about water chestnuts. They're white and crunchy, and you'll find them in a ton of Asian-style stir fry dishes.