Chinese Broccoli
3 recipes found
Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)
A member of the brassica family, gai lan (also known as Chinese broccoli) tastes like a cross between broccoli and broccoli rabe, with a nice balance of slightly sweet and bitter. Gai lan is typically boiled or steamed with aromatics, then enjoyed plain or drizzled with oyster sauce. Here, it’s simply pan-steamed with garlic, ginger and toasted sesame oil. White pepper, common in Chinese cookery, offers milder heat that pairs well with the gai lan, but black pepper is also fine. This quick side is wonderful with roasted chicken and fish; leftovers can be chopped and added to fried rice or pasta the next day.
Caramelized-Scallion Noodles
The key here is the scallion dressing for the noodles and the bit of oyster sauce you drizzle on for depth and umami. Feel free to substitute in any meats, fish, tofu or vegetables you like for the toppings; this is just a template for any number of quick, delicious meals.
Pad See Ew
Built around the satisfying umami of soy sauce, this is an easy Thai recipe to shop for and cook at home. The classic version is made with wide, fresh rice noodles, but Pailin Chongchitnant, a popular Canadian YouTube chef, said that restaurants in Bangkok proudly advertise using spaghetti; in southern Thailand, her family used egg noodles. (In other words, there’s flexibility.) The street-kitchen version of this popular dish — a close relative of Cantonese beef chow fun — will always have more of the seared edges that make the dish extra delicious, but cooking it in a wide, heavy pan that holds onto heat gives great results. If gai lan is not available, Ms. Chongchitnant says that broccolini, a hybrid of gai lan and broccoli, or steamed broccoli are good alternatives. (The crunch of the stems is what you’re after here.).