Comments on: Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan)

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 14:47:45 +0000

In reply to Sarah. In all my years of eating in Chinese restaurants I have never been served the leaves in a gai lan dish. I am from Brooklyn and I have eaten in bklyn queens and Manhattan chinatowns. Every stalk of gai lan I have ever been served has been crispy and cut at an angle. But never with the leaves. I also eat at restaurants where I see Chinese people eating and there is no way that the Chinese people I know would tolerate stale veggies. Boy do I miss Lins Gardens.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 03:12:39 +0000

In reply to Paul. Hmm that's odd that you didn't get the leaves! Could be that they use them in other dishes, or perhaps they were a bit less fresh (starting to yellow), so they removed the leaves? Just speculation!

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 19:04:36 +0000

I noticed something this week for the first time. When you order a dish in a Chinese restruant that has gai lan in it you never get the leafy green leaves. Why is that? At home my wife and I eat those with gusto. I blanch them very quickly and then drain them and squeeze out the water and then add them at the end of the stir fry. What does the restaurant do with the leaves? Can you ask for them in the dish that you order?

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 17:15:32 +0000

In reply to Sara.

Hi Sara, this is actually an ingredients glossary post, but we do have Chinese broccoli recipes below:

https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-broccoli-with-oyster-sauce/
https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-broccoli-stir-fry/
https://thewoksoflife.com/chicken-and-chinese-broccoli/
https://thewoksoflife.com/beef-with-chinese-broccoli/

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 31 Oct 2021 22:32:53 +0000

Thanks for the recipe. Am I missing the printable version? Love your site. Making Zha Jiang Mian tonight.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 30 May 2021 22:55:33 +0000

In reply to Lisa. Hi Lisa, while I am not sure of the technical reason for the silvery sheen, it's normal for gai lan.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 27 May 2021 18:42:44 +0000

Would you happen to know why the leaves have a silvery sheen on them when they are submerged in water?

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 03:27:06 +0000

In reply to Lisa. Hi Lisa, thanks for sharing your quick and easy method - sounds delicious :)

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 00:30:24 +0000

I like to just boil it, put it on a plate, and top it with sesame oil, oyster sauce, and a sprinkle of black pepper, then cut it up on the plate, the action of which mixes the toppings in just enough. I feel the sesame oil alone is good, it just belongs on that gai lan.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 03:05:51 +0000

In reply to Kristi. Hi Kristi, you can harvest the stems, but it really depends upon your soil. All Chinese leafy greens require fertile soil and do best when fertilized regularly. If they start to shoot, then you should just harvest the entire plant, refresh the bed after the last harvest, and start with a new successional plantings.