Gai Lan Recipe: I’m not usually excited about vegetables but boiling warm Chinese broccoli drizzled in delicious & salty oyster sauce is a dim sum dream that comes real. The Chinese seafood recipe for broccoli is simple to make and works very well with a variety of food items.
Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce are among my favorites vegetable dishes to eat as I eat dim sum along with the cheung fun, char siu bao or the xiao long bao. It’s a classic Chinese food that was created by the creator of Lee Kum Kee in Hong Kong to pair along with their famous oyster sauce.
What exactly is Chinese gai lan, or broccoli?
Chinese broccoli, also called gai lan is a lush green vegetable which has a different appearance than its western counterpart, sprouting broccoli, which has a longer stem and more flowers. Gai Lan looks like the bok choy that has dark green leaves on the top and the thin stems. Broccolini could be a cross between gai the lan and broccoli.
Gai Lan is commonly used in a variety of Asian food items and is generally sauteed in stir-fry, steamed, or cooked. One of my favourite ways to eat gai-lan is to eat it in the pad see ew! This particular version that is made of Chinese broccoli comes as a popular version that incorporates an oyster sauce-based seasoning on the top of the dish to impart a the flavor of salt.
Alternate ingredients for Chinese broccoli
They are usually found at the neighborhood Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean supermarkets like 99 Ranch or H-Mart, however, these days you can occasionally get them at American shops as well. If you’re unable to locate Chinese broccoli in your local supermarket it is possible to replace them with broccolini or even the bok choy.
Ingredients in the oyster seasoned sauce
If you prepare the sauce yourself You can alter the flavor and seasoning depending on your personal preference. The sauce’s seasoning is quite simple and includes the following:
- oyster sauce
- soy sauce
- Shaoxing wine
- garlic
- Sesame oil
- sugar
- ginger powder
How do I cook Chinese broccoli using oyster sauce
There are many ways to prepare Chinese broccoli to prepare this dish. You can steam or boil it in a pot of boiling water and some microwave it. I prefer steaming broccoli since I don’t need waiting for a huge pan of water to heat up. I finish it off with an big ice bowl or put the gai lan in cold water to keep gai lan from cooking too long.
I prefer to steam Chinese broccoli while cooking the oyster sauce, since it cooks within the same timeframe.
Serving and storage
When the oyster sauce has cooked sprinkle it on your freshly steaming Chinese broccoli. Then top it off with sesame seeds toasted or fried garlic or whatever other toppings like. I don’t save this since it’s best eaten fresh.
Authentic Chinese Broccoli & Oyster Sauce (Gai Lan Recipe)
Equipment
- Steamer and pan
- Strainer
- Tongs
- saucepan
- spatula/wood spoon
Ingredients
- 200 g (8 stems) gai lan (Chinese broccoli)
- water for rinsing
- 8 g (2 tsp) sesame oil
- 15 g (1 tbsp) garlic minced
- 18 g (1 tbsp) soy sauce
- 38 g (2 tbsp) oyster sauce
- 15 g (1 tbsp) shaoxing wine
- 9 g (2 tsp) white granulated sugar
- 3 g (⅛ tsp) ginger powder
- fried garlic optional topping
- sesame seeds optional topping
Instructions
- Clean the gai lan thoroughly and remove the hard stems near the lower end (about 1/2 inch away from at the very bottom).
- The steamer should be heated to moderately high temperature. Once it begins to boil and steam then add the gailan and bring it up to a medium temperature. Then, steam for about 4m – 5 minutes. Uncover the lid and test for the degree of doneness by piercing it with the knife. If it is able to slide easily, it's finished.
- Utilize tongs to move gai lan to a strainer . Run it through cool water. Place the gai lan in a plate and place it in a dish to dry.
- In a large saucepan, on medium heat add sesame oil and garlic. It should simmer for about 30-seconds or so, until garlic smells fragrant but not to brown. Add the remaining ingredients & mix well.
- Cook for approximately 2 minutes, or till it is the consistency of maple syrup.
- Serve the sauce on top of the gai lan that has been steaming and garnish with sesame or fried garlic seeds.