Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

chinese broccoli (gai lan)

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Nicole Fleming
Las Vegas, NV

While most families have a main dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner, when it was time to eat at my grandfathers house there was several dishes on the table. A typical Chinese style dinner consisted of a fish dish, chicken dish, soup dish and at least three vegetable dishes-one of them being Gai Lan. This was a staple in my household. This is definitely one of my childhood favorites.

(1 rating)
yield 5
prep time 10 Min
cook time 20 Min
method Stir-Fry

Ingredients For chinese broccoli (gai lan)

  • 1 lb
    chinese broccoli (gai lan)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp
    cooking oil
  • 6 clove
    garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
  • 1/2 c
    water or vegetable stock
  • 1 Tbsp
    rice wine
  • 1/4 tsp
    sugar
  • 2 slice
    fresh ginger, smashed lightly with knife handle
  • 3 Tbsp
    oyster sauce
  • 1/2 tsp
    sesame oil

How To Make chinese broccoli (gai lan)

  • 1
    Mix water, wine and sugar for the base in a separate bowl and set aside. Wash Gai Lan, trim 1 inch off the stem and discard. Cut Gai Lan into 2 inch pieces.
  • 2
    Heat oil in wok or roast pan until oil is hot. Add garlic cloves. Toss until golden brown (you don't want your garlic to burn). If it starts to burn, turn the heat down. When Garlic becomes golden brown, add ginger slices tossing for 30 seconds.
  • 3
    Add the Gai Lan to the pot, tossing stems in first and then the leaves. You want the Gai Lan to be coated evenly with infused oil.
  • 4
    Add base to the pot, toss quickly and cover. Turn heat down to med-high and let steam 3-4 minutes.
  • 5
    When the Gai Lan looks cooked through, pick out the ginger and throw out. Plate the Gai Lan and Garlic on a plate.
  • 6
    With the remaining stock in the pot (about 3 tbsp worth), add oyster sauce and sesame oil and cook until it bubbles. Pour over plated Gai Lan.
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