Ensure your yu choy is as dry as possible before stir frying.Lower the heat to medium/low to steam and gently cook through. Don’t heat your oil above med/high heat to avoid burning the delicate leaves.This ensures that lovely “wok hei” aroma in the dish. If stir frying, it’s important there is enough hot oil to lightly coat the vegetable.Taste your blanching water and make sure it’s as salty as the sea. I would add the same amount of salt you would for cooking pasta. When blanching, it’s important the water is salted enough.It really brings out the natural sweetness of this vegetable. If you’re really short on time, I would skip the minced garlic and stick to seasoning with soy salt and oyster sauce.Don’t walk away from the stove and I would sample a stem to check for doneness to your preference. The times laid out in the recipe are approximations and really depends on how hot your stove is and your portion size.Overcooked yu choy will start to lose its vibrant green color and turn dull.Adding a bit of sugar helps it maintain its beautiful green color. Yu choy will turn dark green when cooked and shrink to half its size like spinach.Stir in oyster sauce and sesame oil (if using).
Cook for about 2 – 5 minutes, stirring halfway through. Pour in chicken broth/water and cover.Season with a pinch of salt, sugar and soy sauce mixing thoroughly,.Add the yu choy and saute for about a minute, making sure the hot oil lightly coats the vegetables.(Optional) Add minced garlic and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant – make sure not to burn the garlic.I give all the flavour options in my recipe below. Personally, I like it without garlic and just seasoned with a bit of salt, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Flavorings include garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. If done in a wok, the “wok hei” created makes this simple dish one of my absolute favourites! After frying in oil, cover the pan and let it steam for about 2 minutes. Stir frying creates a lovely smoky sweet flavour. Cleaning and PreparationĬover and steam for 3-5 minutes. If I am unlucky to choose a bad bunch, I end up overcooking them to make it more palatable. Unfortunately, yu choy sum picked past its prime is stringy and not that fun to eat. The entire plant looks fresh and not wilting/drooping.Stems are firm with no dry, yellowing or browning ends.Leaves are green, vibrant and without any damage marks or yellowing.The following is my checklist when picking out the best stems and leaves: I usually peel the lower part of the stem in this case to help make them more tender. Unfortunately, when they start to flower the stems get tougher. Yu choy sum is also called “flowering cabbage” because as they grow larger (and older) they produce yellow flowers.
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Don’t be fooled though, when picked at the right time, the stems are incredibly tender and sweet too! My kids and I prefer the stems over the leaves so this is where knowing how to pick them comes in handy. The regular ones have much longer thicker stems. They have much smaller, skinnier stems and are sweet and tender when cooked. These are the same variety just picked at different times, the sprouts are picked much earlier and are usually no longer than 5 inches. Most grocery stores sell regular and sprouts (a.k.a. regular yu choy (right) How to pick yu choy Yu choy, on the other hand, doesn’t need it, especially the young tender stalks. I would always recommend cooking gai lan with some ginger to balance out the bitterness. Gai lan stems should also be peeled at the ends and cooked separately from the leaves.ĭespite these differences, gai lan makes a great substitute in most Chinese dishes.
Gai lan, also known as Chinese broccoli, is not as tender with thicker stalks and a more bitter taste. Adding this leafy vegetable to any meal means you amped up your nutrition! Did I mention that it also tastes absolutely delicious? Yu Choy vs. Yu choy is a low fat healthy vegetable rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and folate. It’s sweet and mild in flavour and has a texture in between spinach and rapini. In Asian grocery stores, these two names are often used interchangeably. It directly translates to “oil vegetable” and in Cantonese, we also refer to it as “choy sum” (菜心). Yu choy (油菜) is a classic Chinese vegetable that’s part of the mustard family.
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