5 Amazing Chinese Broccoli Gailan Recipes You Must Try (Ready in 10 Minutes)

Hi everyone, I'm Mandy. Welcome to Siu Tok Recipes. When shopping in Asian markets, I bet most of you have seen Chinese broccoli aka gai lan. It's one of the most beloved leafy greens in Cantonese cuisine. It has thick and crispy stems, tender leaves, and a light bitter aftertaste. It's great for making all kinds of stir-fries Today, I'm going to show you 5 amazing gai lan recipes, including oyster sauce broccoli stir-fry, beef and broccoli in black pepper sauce, Chinese beef and broccoli rice, broccoli meatball noodle soup, and stir-fry gai lan with cured meat. They're easy, quick, nutritious, and absolutely delicious. Before we get started, please let me announce that the digital version of my cookbook is finally available for sale. Last year, I published a physical cookbook. Many of you loved it and were asking for the e-book. Now you can check it out by clicking the link in the description. Thank you for your support, and let's get back to the cooking. The first recipe is oyster sauce broccoli stir-fry. Although it is the most basic Cantonese dish, I want to go over a few small tips so that you can make the best gai lan stir-fry going forward. The first tip, when cutting the gai lan, you should separate the leaves and the stems, as they take different times to cook. If you don't have access to Chinese broccoli, western broccoli will do just fine. Or you can use broccolini, which is a hybrid of Chinese broccoli and western broccoli. Gai lan has a light, bitter aftertaste, so it is important to slice the stems at an angle. This way, you get a bigger cut surface, which allows the flavors to infuse in and suppress the bitterness. Next, we'll make a quick stir-fry sauce. One and a half tablespoon of oyster sauce, two teaspoons of soy sauce, one teaspoon of sugar. The sugar here is also to help balance the bitter taste. Continue by adding a touch of ground black pepper, one tablespoon of water, and half teaspoon of cornstarch. The cornstarch will thicken the sauce and make sure the flavor cling onto the surface of the vegetables, so your gai lan would not taste plain. Turn the heat to medium, and preheat the wok for 20 seconds. Add a drizzle of oil, and swirl it around. Toss in the gai lan stems, and stir for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. The garlic doesn't need to be finely diced. Roughly chopped like this is good, as the smaller, the easier it burns. Add the gai lan leaves, and pour in the sauce. Continue to stir until the leaves are wilted, and you're done! It's so easy and basic, but delicious. You can serve it as a side dish for almost any meal. The second dish is my most recommendation among the 5 recipes today, because who doesn't like beef and broccoli? Slice the beef into 1 eighth of an inch thick pieces. I'm using flank steak. Other cuts such as strip steak, rib eye, and sirloin will also work. Marinate it with a quarter teaspoon of salt, 1 eighth teaspoon of baking soda, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch, and half tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine. Mix thoroughly. Last, add a drizzle of oil and mix to coat it. This helps to separate the slices, so they don't stick together while cooking. Set it aside for 10 minutes. During this time, we can prepare the gai lan. Same as before, separate the stems and the leaves, because they will go into the wok at different times. If you don't have access to Chinese broccoli, use western broccoli, and the dish will taste just as delicious. Cut the stems at an angle into bite size pieces. Roughly chop the leaves. Set them aside, and we'll put together the black pepper sauce. As the name suggests it, you'll need quite a lot of black pepper, coarsely ground. If you're a serving kid, or can't handle spicy food, you can reduce the amount of black pepper. Continue by adding 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 1.5 teaspoons of soy sauce, half teaspoon of dark soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Mix well, and set it aside. Turn the heat to high, and preheat the wok until smoking hot. Add a big drizzle of oil, and swirl it around to create a non-stick coating. Toss in the gai lan stems, and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the marinated beef, quickly stir to separate the slices. The heat is on high, so in less than a minute or so, all of the meat should change color. Then add the diced garlic, gai lan leaves, and pour in the black pepper sauce. Continue to mix until well combined, and you're done! This dish goes perfectly with white rice. The sauce is rich and savory. The black pepper kick complements the gai lan, and pairs beautifully with the tender juicy beef, which sets this dish apart from the classic beef and broccoli stir fry that you usually order from the takeout restaurants. The third recipe is Chinese beef and broccoli rice. Yes, it's beef again, because in Cantonese cuisine, gai lan is almost always paired with beef. I'm not sure why, it's just the way we Cantonese like it. Of course, you can always swap in chicken or pork if you prefer. We will cook some rice first. Rinse one cup of rice a couple of times, and drain well. Add one and a half cup of water. Wipe the moisture from the bottom before you put the pot back into the rice cooker. Press the button and let it do its job. If you don't have a rice cooker, you can check this link to learn how to cook perfect rice over the stovetop. We only need 5-6 stalks of gai lan this time, about 150 grams. Quarter the thick stems lengthwise so that it is easier to cook through. Dice the stem part into small pieces, then roughly chop the leaves. Again, if you don't have access to Chinese broccoli, western broccoli, broccolini, baby bok choy, or choy sum will work just as good. Here is 150 grams of beef. Cut it into a few thick strips, then slice them into thin pieces. We will not do any marinade, so you do want to use a tender cut. This is flank steak, but sirloin or strip steak will also work. Turn the heat to high, and preheat the wok until smoking hot, which will take about 30 seconds. Add a big drizzle of oil, toss in the diced gai lan, and stir quickly for a minute. Add the beef and some diced garlic. Stir until the meat changes color, which will take about 30 seconds. Season it with 1 tbsp of fish sauce, 2 tsp of soy sauce, 2 tsp of oyster sauce, and 1 tsp of dark soy sauce. Mix well. The rice should be done cooking. Add it to the wok directly and turn off the heat. Mix thoroughly. If you keep the heat on, the grains will stick to the wok badly. I know this looks like fried rice, but it's not. This is called cai fan in Chinese, which is a type of rice dish that's mixed with diced vegetables and meat. I once shared a Shanghai style cai fan dish. If you are interested, you can check it out right here. Cai fan is one of my favorite quick meals. Now that I'm back in China, I'm responsible for cooking dinner for my family every day, and on those days when I don't feel like spending too much time in the kitchen, this is my go-to. It's fast, simple, nutritious, and I'm pretty sure everyone loves it. The fourth one is my favorite breakfast option, a hearty meatball noodle soup. Guess what kind of meatballs I'm using? Of course it's beef! I'm Cantonese. In a stockpot, add 1.5 tbsp of cooking oil, 2 tbsp of minced garlic, 1.5 tbsp of minced ginger, and some diced scallions. Saute over medium low heat for a few minutes, or until the edges of the aromatics are slightly golden. Pour in 5 cups of water. If you have stock, any stock like chicken, beef, or vegetable will work. But I only have water today, so I use water. Nothing is wrong with it. These beef meatballs are store-bought. Any Asian market will carry them. Just make sure you check the frozen section and you'll find them. If you don't have access, you can check this video to learn how to make it from scratch. It will take 5 to 8 minutes for it to come to a boil over medium heat. During this time, you can prepare the gai lan. Trim off a few leaves from the lower part of the gai lan stalk, and keep the ones on the top. When making soup, I like to use the leaves only, because the stem part tends to retain more of their bitterness, which does affect the taste. If you don't have gai lan, use spinach, kale, or baby bok choy as a replacement. I started with 500 grams of gai lan, and after separating, I ended up with about 150 grams of leaves and 350 grams of stems. Reserve the stems for the next dish. These are thin rice vermicelli noodles, so you can add them to the boiling water directly, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. If you are using thick rice noodles like these, you have to pre-soak them until soft before cooking. Four ounces of noodles may not seem like much, that is because even though this is a noodle soup, the focus isn't on the carbs, it's all about the balance. You know, we love lots of meatballs, the perfect amount of greens, and a touch of noodles to bring everything together. Once the noodles are cooked to al dente, add all of the gai lan leaves, and cook for 10 more seconds. Season the soup with 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, or to taste, and you're done. If you were asked to rate the number one comfort food, many people would say egg drop soup or chicken wonton soup, but I swear with my Cantonese soul, this one takes the crown. Simple, nutritious, and so heartwarming. Technically, the measurements I gave make it number two, but I can easily finish the whole thing myself and slip right into a food coma. No joke, it's that delicious. Alright, here is the last recipe. Stir fry gai lan with Chinese cured meat. Guess what kind of cured meat I'm using. Nope, it's not beef, because in China, especially in Canton, cured beef is less common, so we're actually using pork today. This is Chinese cured pork belly, known as la rou. It usually comes with a tough skin, so be sure to remove that first before slicing it thinly. There are many kinds of la rou in China, what I'm using today is Hunan style. The flavor is quite similar to hickory smoked bacon, which makes a great substitute if you don't have access to la rou. However, store-bought la rou is usually salty. You have to soak it in hot water for 5-10 minutes to rinse off the sodium. If you're using hickory smoked bacon, you don't have to do this step. Here are the gai lan stems, with a little bit of leaves that we reserved from the previous dish. Use the roll cutting technique to cut them into small pieces. If you don't have gai lan, you can use broccoli or cauliflower stems. Turn the heat to medium, and preheat the wok for 20-30 seconds. Add a drizzle of oil to lubricate the wok surface, then toss in the sliced Chinese cured meat. Stir over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, or until a few tbsp of fat is rendered out. Add the gai lan stems, and some diced garlic, and stir fry for 4-5 minutes over medium-low heat, or until they are cooked through. Since the cured meat is already salty, but the gai lan is not, you will need to add some seasoning to balance the flavor. About 1 tbsp of soy sauce, or 1 tbsp of oyster sauce would do nicely. These are classic Cantonese choices, but since I'm half-Hunanese, I like to add 1 tbsp of my homemade BBQ spice mix instead. You can check out the recipe right here. Feel free to use your own favorite seasoning blend. Just taste and adjust as you go. That's it, you're done! The cured meat is rich and savory, while the gai lan stays crispy and refreshing, but lightly infused with that fermented aroma. So simple and quick, but absolutely delicious. Alright, that is all the gai lan recipes for today. Let me know in the comments which one is your favorite. I hope this video inspires you to give Chinese broccoli a try soon. As always, the printable recipe links are in the description, go check them out. Don't forget to like and subscribe to my channel for more easy and authentic Chinese food. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time. Bye!