Universal Chinese Greens Part 3: Blanching and Dressing

Three plates of Chinese green vegetables, prepared three different ways

Universal Chinese Greens Part 3: Blanching and Dressing

Chinese greens can easily be blanched to make flavourful, simple sides. This method is very rewarding, and easy to apply to a wide variety of vegetables. This version features tatsoi (or bok choy) and a simple, universal braising liquid.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword authentic, blanched chinese vegetables, chinese dressing for vegetables, easy, how to blanch green vegetables, quick

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Servings servings

Calories 131kcal

Ingredients

Vegetables

350 g gai lan or choy sum, or another Chinese green (see note)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp peanut oil or other neutral oil

Sauce 1 - Oyster Sauce

2 tbsp peanut oil
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp sugar

Sauce 2 - Sizzling Oil

3 tbsp peanut oil or other neutral oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp hot water
4-5 scallions white portion only, thinly sliced
1/2 small red pepper thinly sliced
2 cm piece ginger thinly sliced into small matchsticks (about 5 g)

Sauce 3 - "Pho-style"

2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sriracha hot sauce
1 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp basil thinly chopped
chili pepper or red pepper to garnish

Instructions

Basic Greens

Wash and the greens and set them aside. If you're using a larger/tougher green like gai lan, you may want to halve the stems to ensure that they cook evenly. If you're using a head-forming vegetable like bok choy, you can halve, quarter, or otherwise divide the head to yield more manageable pieces. If you're using a very leafy green like spinach or amaranth, leave it whole.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and oil, then add the vegetables to the pot. Blanch until cooked but still vibrant green. Firm vegetables like gai lan should retain their crunchy texture (about 3-4 minutes), while soft vegetables like spinach should be cooked only long enough for them to wilt and darken (about 1 minute).
Drain the greens and douse with cold water to cool them down. Drain the excess water (you may want to gently squeeze leafy greens like spinach), then serve with a sauce.

Oyster Sauce

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Once very hot, add the garlic and cook until golden brown and crispy. Add the oyster sauce and water and stir to combine. Spoon over the cooked greens and serve immediately.

Sizzling Oil

Once the greens are cooked, top them with the scallions and peppers.
Combine the soy sauce and water and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Heat the oil until it's extremely hot (it should be shimmering, and a chopstick dipped into it should bubble). As soon as the oil is ready, pour it carefully over the scallions and peppers on top of the greens. It should sizzle fairly dramatically. Once you've poured all the oil, add the soy sauce and water in a similar fashion. Serve immediately. (See note for trouble-shooting)

"Pho-style"

Simply combine the hoisin sauce, sriracha sauce, and hot water. Drizzle over the greens, then sprinkle with basil and chili peppers or red peppers, and serve immediately.

Notes

Vegetables like gai lan and choy sum don't reduce down too much, however particularly leafy vegetables with thinner stalks will lose a lot of water volume and mass as they cook. If you choose a particularly soft or leafy vegetable, you may want to use closer to one pound (450 g).

The only tricky technique here is the sizzling oil. Try pouring a very small amount of oil on to the vegetables to make sure it's hot enough (i.e., sizzling). If you end up pouring the oil on while it's too cold the ginger and peppers will remain a little too raw, however this is easily fixed: simply pop the dish in the microwave for 1 minute or so to steam/soften the vegetables.

Nutrition