We love all veggies (yes, even beets!), but there are some that really suit our fancy. Gai lan is one!
Sometimes called Chinese broccoli, gai lan is, well, not particularly extraordinary. It’s relatively neutral in flavor, a lot like regular old broccoli, with a familiar texture (yup, like broccoli!). It is pronounced "guy-lan," like land, without the D.
It doesn’t have big prominent florets like the broccoli you already know, and instead, its long stalks are mostly topped with leafy greens and some smaller, loose florets.
Cooked gai lan is the perfect example of a popular culinary
term: tender-crisp. This means a vegetable is soft enough to easily bite
through, but it still retains some of its natural firmness. It isn’t mushy, but
it isn’t as crunchy as a raw vegetable. Of course, the leaves will wilt and soften,
like spinach. We love this combination of textures in one vegetable!
Gai lan can be steamed or even roasted, but it is commonly
stir-fried. Stir-frying is different than frying we think of with crispy fried
chicken or French fries. It is more like sautéing, which means food is cooked
in just a bit of oil over high heat.
In Asian cuisines, stir-fried vegetables are ideally cooked in a wok, which is an Asian cooking pan that is rounded on the bottom with higher edges than skillets we use more frequently. They conduct heat very well (so they can get nice and hot!), and they are shaped perfectly for constantly moving food around in the pan for even cooking.
Gai lan can be stir-fried simply, with oil, salt, and pepper. Or you can experiment with traditional Asian flavors, like sesame oil, soy sauce, Shaoxing (that’s Chinese cooking wine), or oyster sauce. Gai lan in oyster sauce is the preparation you are most likely to see at your local Chinese restaurant, and it’s one of our favorite simple ways to use this veggie.
Oyster sauce is made by cooking oysters with sugar, salt,
and other ingredients, but it is not nearly as fishy as you might imagine. It
is rich, salty, and thick (or viscous, a word used to describe something thick
and syrupy), and when used in recipes, it adds a neutrally-flavored savoriness.
Try gai lan as a side alongside simple roasted chicken or sautéed salmon. You can also chop it up and add it to your next fried rice or stir-fry.
You can find gai lan at any Asian grocery store, but it’s common
enough that your everyday market may carry it. Trim the edges and either cook the
whole stalks or slice the into bite-size pieces.