Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) with Oyster Sauce

Call me weird, but I was not one of those kids that hated broccoli. In fact, I've never met a broccoli that I didn't like, and the Chinese variety happens to be my favorite. Chinese broccoli is a beautiful, green, leafy veg that tastes best if cooked lightly and barely. This green resembles broccoli rabe (which I haven't yet tried), so I imagine they might taste similar - tender crisp, with just a slight hint of bitterness.


The sauce in my version is a little thinner than the norm (i.e., what you would get in a typical Chinese restaurant or dim sum house), but it's reminiscent of what my mom or grandmother would make.


Ingredients:
10 oz. Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan), available in most Asian markets
1 tsp. salt
1 slice fresh ginger
1 tbsp. vegetable oil


SAUCE:
6 tbsp. water
6 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. rice wine
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil


1. Fill a large stock pot with water (enough to cover the broccoli); add 1 tsp. of salt, 1 slice of fresh ginger, and 1 tbsp. of oil. Bring to a boil.


2. Wash & trim broccoli, keeping leaves whole and cutting stems into 2" sections (discard the tougher ends of the stems). 


3. Add all sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan. Remove 1 tbsp. of the sauce mixture to a small bowl and stir in 1 tsp. of cornstarch (this is the cornstarch slurry-add 1 more tsp. of cornstarch if you like a thicker sauce). 


4. Bring sauce ingredients to a boil and add cornstarch slurry; stir continuously until thickened. Turn heat down to low and keep sauce warm. 


3. In the meantime, blanch broccoli in boiling water about 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. Remove broccoli to a colander and rinse under cold, running water to stop the cooking. 


4. Arrange broccoli on serving plate and pour sauce over. 

Clean & rinse the greens well.

Slice 1 piece of ginger root.

Trim the broccoli (keep the leaves whole and cut stems into 2" sections).

Fill large stock pot with water and add 1 tsp. salt. 

Add ginger slice and 1 tbsp. oil to the water. Bring to a boil.

For the sauce: Sesame oil, oyster sauce & rice wine (Michiu).

Stir sauce ingredients together in a sauce pan; remove 1 tbsp. of the sauce mix to a small glass bowl.

Add 1 tsp. (or 2 tsp., if you like a thicker sauce) to the 1 tbsp. of reserved sauce mix. This is the 'cornstarch slurry,' which will be used to thicken the oyster sauce.

Bring Oyster sauce mix to a boil. Add cornstarch slurry, stir and cook until thickened. Turn heat down to low to keep sauce warm.

Blanch Chinese broccoli 3-4 minutes, until just tender-crisp.

Remove broccoli to a colander and rinse under cold, running water to stop the cooking.

Shake excess water from the broccoli and arrange on a serving platter.

Pour warm oyster sauce over the broccoli.

Almost makes me want to become a vegetarian, but then that oyster sauce knocks the sense right back into me.