Dish of Gai Lan Stir Fry
(click to enlarge)

Gai Lan Stir Fry


Malaysia
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 slide
**
45 min
Prep		 A simple, very flavorful, stir fry side dish, which can stand alone with rice if the mushrooms are included. The Oyster sauce is not essential, so it can easily be made pure vegetarian.

1
2
1-1/2
4
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2
1
1/2
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2
2
1
#
cl
in
oz
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T
T
T
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t
T
T
t
Gai Lan (1)
Garlic
Ginger Root
Mushrooms (2)
-- Sauce
Soy Sauce
Rice Wine (3)
Oyster Sauce (opt. 4)
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Corn Starch
Water
Oil
Sesame Oil, dark
Prep   -   (30 min)
  1. Wash GAIN LAN and drain very well (salad spinner is good). Remove Leaves and tender tips from Stems. Cut or tear Leaves into bite size pieces. Cut stems diagonally about 2 inches long (peel any that are overly thick). Keep Leaves and Stems separate.
  2. Slice GINGER crosswise very thin, then into fine matchsticks.
  3. Crush and chop GARLIC fine.
  4. Slice MUSHROOMS about 3/16 inch wide.
  5. Mix all Sauce Items.
  6. Mix Cornstarch with Water.
RUN   -   (15 min)
  1. Heat OIL in a wok and stir in Ginger until aromatic, then stir in Garlic for about 30 seconds.
  2. Stir in Gai Lan Stems and Mushrooms. Fry stirring for about 3 minutes. Stir in Gai Lan Leaves until well coated with oil and wilted.
  3. Stir in Sauce Mix, and bring quickly to a boil. Cover and simmer until Gai Lan stems are crisp tender, just a couple minutes.
  4. Stir up Cornstarch and stir in just long enough to thicken the sauce a little.
  5. Sprinkle in Sesame Oil and serve hot.
NOTES:

  1. Gai Lan:

      [Chinese Broccoli]   This popular vegetable can be found in most markets serving an Asian community. For details see our Gai Lan / Chinese Broccoli page.

  2. Mushrooms:

      Various Mushrooms can be used with some difference in flavor. Dried Black Mushrooms work well and are quite meaty (start with 3/4 oz dry). Give them at least a half hour soak in warm water before stemming and cutting. Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms are also very good. Give them a 20 minute soak in hot water before stemming and cutting, it changes their texture from coarse to silky. Various varieties of Oyster Mushrooms can be use, giving the recipe a lighter flavor than the Black Mushrooms or Shiitakes, but still meaty. Regular white mushrooms would be my last choice, but still good. Mushrooms can be omitted entirely if desired. For details see our Fungus page.

  3. Rice Wine:

      Use a good, drinkable Chinese rice wine, not that horrid salted "cooking" version. If you don't have this, use a Dry Sherry. Sake is made from rice but is not considered a good substitute, it's beer, not wine. For details see our Chinese Rice Wine page.

  4. Oyster Sauce:

      For a purely vegetarian recipe, this can be omitted. It is a standard Chinese sauce used in Southeast Asia for dishes in the Chinese style. My current favorite is Megachef, but Lee Kum Kee Premium brand is also excellent - it's in a very Chinese looking bottle but it's made in Los Angeles. Yes, these brands are more expensive than some, but there's reasons for that (much higher oyster content, unleaded and no melamine).
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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