Greens in Oyster Sauce

Greens blanched briefly and dressed with a warmed oyster sauce, so the stems stay firm.

Not vegetarian — contains oyster sauce. Everything else in it is vegetarian, so it becomes a vegetarian dish if you use mushroom or vegetarian oyster sauce — which is sold, including by Thai brands.

Ingredients

• 500 g leafy greens such as choi sum or pak choi
• 1 teaspoon salt, for the blanching water
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, for the blanching water
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method

1. Trim the greens and split any stem thicker than a pencil lengthways, so the stems and the leaves finish together instead of one going to mush while the other is raw.
2. Bring a wide pan of water to the boil with the salt and the teaspoon of oil. The oil leaves a sheen on the leaves as they come out.
3. Blanch the greens for 90 seconds, until the stems bend without snapping. Lift them out, shake them, and lay them on a plate.
4. Warm the tablespoon of oil in a small pan, add the garlic, and cook it 20 seconds — just to the point where it smells sweet. Any further and it turns bitter.
5. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and water, and let it bubble for 30 seconds until it thickens slightly.
6. Pour it over the greens and serve at once, while the stems still have a bite.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under China · All recipes