Chef Paul Carmichael taught me this way of preparing gai lan (also known as Chinese broccoli). It makes an easy side dish to serve with almost anything, from Caribbean escovitch (see video below) to an Asian curry or grilled steak. You can steam the gai lan in advance to ensure the stems are tender, then it’s really quick to reheat and toss with the garlic when you’re ready to serve. Use this recipe for inspiration to stir-fry any leafy greens including English spinach, bok choy, choy sum, water spinach and wombok; if they don’t have thick stems you can skip the steaming step and just toss them in a wok or frying pan with the oil and garlic. If you aren’t set up to steam, you can blanch them by plunging into boiling salted water for 60 seconds or so. This stir-fried gai lan with garlic is extra delicious with a glass of Aussie riesling, especially Orlando Steingarten with a few years’ bottle age.
Serves 2
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