Restaurant-Style Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce
Side
Ingredients
choy sum kai lan (Chinese mustard greens), bok choy/baby bok choy, or any green leafy vegetables
Description
Chinese greens with oyster sauce is an easy dish to prepare but not many can make it right. I have seen too many overcooked vegetable dishes served—at homes and even at restaurants. Once you grasp the basic techniques and skills of making this dish, you can pretty much cook any vegetables or Chinese greens you want—choy sum, kai lan (Chinese mustard greens), bok choy/baby bok choy, or any green leafy vegetables.
Directions
Use garlic oil – I use a lot of garlic oil in my Chinese recipes. It adds a lot of depth to simple dishes and infuses the veggie with garlicky flavor and aroma.
Use cooking oil wisely – Add a drop or two cooking oil into the water before blanching the vegetables. The cooking oil coats the vegetables so they look fresh and green, not purple.
Don’t kill your vegetables, they are already dead! – Don’t overcook your vegetables by leaving them too long in the boiling water. Perfectly blanched vegetables should be somewhat crunchy, not limp and wilted.
Discard excess water from the vegetables before plating/serving – Drain the water from the vegetables so it doesn’t dilute the sauce. Excess water in the vegetables will make your vegetable dish watery.
Notes
Buy fresh vegetables – select the freshest greens available in your market. Such as the baby bok choy shown in my pictures.