Steam-fried gailan with oyster sauce

Cantonese restaurants serve beautiful vegetables, especially the brilliant green flowering stems called gailan (jielan in Mandarin). Tender, crispy, and flavorful, there is just no excuse not to eat your veggies when they are cooked as deliciously as this.

If you are a devotee of dim sum, you'll recognize this as the sole green vegetable to make an appearance among all of the other meaty and starchy tidbits that are wheeled around the room. This is classic teahouse food, and gailan, or Chinese flowering kale, strikes a perfect balance with all of the steamed and roasted foods that are offered.

Making this dish at home is extremely easy, and now is the perfect time to cook it when the stalks are at their springtime best. The gailan that I picked up in the market the other day couldn't have been more delightful; there was no need to peel the stems or toss any part of it away -- they were that good!

A stalk of Chinese kale

When you go shopping for gailan, there are a couple of things to look out for to ensure that you're buying the best. Of course, if at all possible buy from someone who sells "no spray" veggies, which are almost as good as organic. Yes, you might find a few bug holes here and there, but overall the quality is better.

Second, look at the flowers. Actually, look for flowers, since the opened white blossoms will tell you in no uncertain terms that the stems are getting a little bit old. 

And, try to locate stems that are only around 6 inches long with perhaps 3 or 4 small leaves on them, like the stalk on the right. Tight green buds and just a couple of small leaves on thin stems is the best of all worlds. The reason for this is that such plants were grown quickly under optimum conditions, and so the skins of the stems will be tender, the leaves will still be young, and the flower buds will melt in your mouth.

If you're not too sure, do the fingernail test: press a nail into the bottom inch or so, and if it slides in fairly easily, that means you have a tender specimen in your hand and you won't need to peel it.

The fingernail test

Preparing these veggies is also quite easy. Just trim off the very ends and then rinse the gailan under running water. Shake some of the water off. Done.

Today we're going to look at an excellent Chinese cooking technique called "steam frying." A few tablespoons of oil are heated in a wok over high heat before the still wet gailan are tossed in; the hot oil starts the initial cooking, and the steam formed by the water on the leaves finishes the job.

Flip the stalks around in the hot oil for a minute or so to make sure that every part of the veggies is coated with a bit of the oil. It is all right if there is a little searing going on, as this adds flavor. Cover the wok with a lid (I often use the colander the gailan were sitting in just because I'm lazy and it's one less thing to wash) for a few quick minutes to steam the veggie stalks until they are just this side of raw.

Dull dark green when raw

When you open up the lid, you should see beautifully green flower stalks staring back at you. In fact, the best time to remove them from the wok is when they are a bright jade color. 

Look at the difference in the photos to the right and you will see what I mean. In their raw state, the leaves and stalks are a dark, dull green. But something happens when they cook because their color is transformed into something quite stunning.

Use tongs or a spatula to lift the cooked gailan out the wok and onto your serving plate. Then, quickly boil up the sauce and pour it over the waiting vegetables. That's it.

Bright green when done

Cantonese restaurants often cook and serve these vegetables a bit differently, and this is what they do: the gailan is given a quick dip in boiling water with a bit of oil added, as this gives the leaves and stalks a nice sheen. As soon as the veggies are blanched to a gentle crispness, they are stacked up parallel to each other on a platter, and then cut across the middle. A final touch is some oyster sauce right out of the bottle.

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and I order it all the time. But just about anything directly out of a bottle tastes like it came directly out of a bottle. The oyster sauce has a coarse, fishy smell this way and really needs something to whip it into shape.

What I do is cook it quickly in a hot wok with some rice wine, sugar, and sesame oil. Taste and adjust at this point, since not all oyster (and oyster-flavored) sauces are made the same way. You may need a touch more sugar or soy sauce or what have you to give it the perfect flavor. This is not a really big deal to do, but it makes all the difference in the world to the final dish.

Try it and see if you don't agree.

Perfectly done

Gailan with oyster sauce 
Haoyou jielan  蠔油芥藍  
Guangdong
Serves 4 to 6

1 pound gailan (Chinese flowering kale)
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
6 tablespoons (or so) rice wine
6 tablespoons (or so) oyster sauce or oyster-flavored sauce
3 to 4 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons (or so) roasted sesame oil

1. If the stems need no more than a light trim on the bottom, do that and place the gailan in a colander; they should be about 6 to 8 inches long. If, on the other hand, they have thick skins, use a paring knife to peel this off, as well as any leaves that are tough. Rinse the veggies under running water and lightly shake dry.

Bubbling sauce

2. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat and add the veggies. Quickly stir-fry them until the color starts to change. Cover the wok with a lid or the colander and let them steam for a minute or two until the gailan turns a bright green. Remove the veggies to a serving platter and arrange them parallel to each other with the leaves in one direction. Cut them in half across the middle, if you like.

3. Add the rice wine, oyster sauce, sugar, and sesame oil to the wok and bring it to a fast boil over high heat. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Pour the sauce over the gailan and serve while hot.

Tips

Avoid buying gailan that has more than just a few opened flowers, as these stalks will probably be tougher.

Lee Kum Kee label

Do the fingernail test to make sure the stalks are tender.

Pass over any stalks that have leaves longer than 4 inches, as the leaves will toughen up, too.

Find either an oyster sauce or an oyster-flavored sauce that you like. My favorite for years has been the Hong Kong brand Lee Kum Kee, which has a charming, old-fashioned label featuring monster sized oysters in a punt with a lady and a little boy, sampans sailing in the background. It's definitely one of the cooler labels around.

Vegetarians and vegans (and those who are allergic to shellfish) can opt for Vegetarian Oyster Sauce, which is available in most stores right next to the real stuff; no fish or seafood in there, but the flavor is quite good.

Hong Kong style alkaline egg noodles

I'm a big fan of noodles, and so when there was a discussion recently on eGullet about the use of alkaline water in Chinese food, it got me to thinking about some of the great southern style noodles that call for a bit of alkali in the dough. 

This solution (basically potassium chloride and bicarbonate of soda dissolved in water) raises the pH of the dough and gives it a nice, chewy bite. 

Called jianshui (alkaline water) or xuejianshui (snow alkaline water) in Chinese, this can be found in most Chinese groceries in a canned goods aisle.

The secret ingredient

When I think of Cantonese style pasta, my mind immediately goes to one thing and one thing only: Green Onion and Young Ginger Noodles, which has the simplest of sauces. 

For years, it has been my great personal barometer with which to test any new Hong Kong style restaurant, because nothing can hide in this dish. Basically just fresh noodles, young ginger, green onions, oyster sauce, and oil, it is an inspired combination that allows each ingredient to be enjoyed to its fullest.

Over the next few weeks -- when fresh young ginger is just beginning to show up in the market around here and green onions are at their best -- is the perfect time for this extraordinary dish.

Oyster sauce with ginger & green onions

When you buy young ginger, look for Hawaiian ginger, which tends to be less infused with chemicals than the Chinese ones. The ginger should have pink tips, as this shows new growth, and if you are lucky, the rhizomes will be gently infused with some more pink when you slice them.

The best young ginger has a creamy skin that is so tender that it does not have to be peeled. Just wash whatever amount you want to use, dry it off, and then slice it as thinly as you can with the grain. Then, shred these slices very, very finely to form a chiffonade. In this way, the ginger will lose any fieriness and practically melt in your mouth.

Noodle "nests"

The green onions likewise should be cut into as fine a julienne as possible. To do this, I cut each onion into 2-inch lengths and then lightly smack them with the side of a cleaver. Then, I just cut them lengthwise into as fine a shred as possible. This too makes them unobtrusive and more liable to meld into whatever you are preparing.

In this dish, the sauce is just about the simplest one around: fresh peanut or vegetable oil cooked with some oyster sauce. If you are a vegetarian or are allergic to shellfish, try one of the vegetarian oyster sauces, which are quite good. 

The oil is briefly fried to form shouyou, or "cooked oil." Any dish that has vegetable oil added to the final dressing is generally cooked first to remove any raw flavors, and here I fry it for a minute with the oyster sauce to bring out the brininess in the bottled sauce while cooking away the "canned" flavor. It's a small step, but it is one that I heartily recommend instead of pouring oyster sauce onto your food directly from the bottle.

Korean all purpose flour

Hong Kong style egg fettuccine
Gangshi danmian 港式蛋麵
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Makes 20 ounces fresh noodles, or about 4 servings

½ teaspoon alkaline water (jianshui)
2 tablespoons filtered water
2¼ cups Korean all-purpose flour
3 large organic eggs
Extra flour for rolling out the dough

1. Pour the alkaline water into the filtered water before mixing it into the flour and eggs. When these form a soft dough, cover it with a cloth and let it rest for about 30 minutes to relax the gluten.

"Lace" in the dough

2. If using a pasta machine, cut the dough into quarters, pat each piece liberally with some of the extra flour, and run them one at a time through the lowest setting on the pasta machine. Fold up each sheet into thirds (like a business letter) and turn it 90 degrees so that the folded edges are on your left and right. Fold it again once more so that it is no wider than the rollers on your pasta machine. Dust it lightly with flour and run it through the rollers again at the lowest setting; repeat this until there are no tears or "lace" in the sheet, and the dough looks soft and silky. 

3. Lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and increase the setting to "2," and run it through the rollers as before. Repeat until it is once again silky and increase the setting to 3 and so forth, up to at least the middle setting, which should be "5." Then, lightly dust the sheet, fold it once on itself, and let it rest under a cloth while you repeat these steps with the other three pieces of dough. If you are rolling this out by hand, use the largest rolling pin you have to roll the floured dough out into a thin sheet; this will probably be easiest if you divide the dough into four pieces, as with the machine. Cover each piece with a clean towel while you work on the other pieces.

Silky dough

4. Cut the dough using your pasta maker or by hand into long ¼-inch strips. Dust the noodles heavily with flour (you can sift it off and use it again later on, if you wish) so that they do not stick to each other. If you are cooking the noodles right away, proceed to the next step. If you want to make these noodles ahead of time, dry them in small "nests" by forming eight loose piles of heavily floured noodles on a clean cloth. (Don't dry them over a rack, as the dough is very brittle and will start to break as soon as it dries.) When the noodles are completely dry, store them in a closed container, preferably in the fridge.

5. To cook the noodles, bring a large pot of salted water to a full boil, and have another couple of cups of boiling water ready on the side. Add the noodles and stir gently until the water boils again. Cook the noodles until barely tender, then drain them into a colander set in the sink. Rinse the noodles with cool running water, and then toss them with the extra boiling water. Drain and serve or use in a dish that shows them off well, like the next one:

Favorite HK noodles

Green Onion and Young Ginger Noodles 
Cong jiang laomian 蔥薑撈麵 
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Serves 4

The above recipe for fresh noodles, or about 20 ounces fresh egg noodles
One 3-inch "finger" of young ginger
4 green onions, trimmed
½ cup peanut or vegetable oil
½ cup oyster sauce

1. Cut the ginger into fine threads (see the discussion above). Cut the onions into 2-inch lengths, smack lightly with the side of a cleaver, and shred lengthwise as finely as possible.

Simmer the oyster sauce and oil

2. Cook the noodles as directed, and while they are boiling, place the oil and oyster sauce in a large saucepan or wok and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the oyster sauce for about a minute. Remove from the heat.

3. Drain, rinse, douse the noodles with that extra boiling water, and drain thoroughly. Dump the noodles into the saucepan with the oyster sauce and add half or more of the ginger and onions. Toss the noodles with the sauce until each strand is coated. Divide the noodles among 4 bowls or plates, sprinkle with the rest of the ginger and green onions, and serve.

Tips

Buy green onions that have fresh rootlets; the whiter and firmer they are, the fresher the onion. Also look at the tips, which should have no rotting or withered areas.

Store green onions wrapped in a damp paper towel, placed in a plastic bag, and plunked in the veggie bin. This will keep them happy for a least a few days.

Beautiful young ginger

Fresh young ginger has a very short shelf life, so enjoy it like you do the daffodils: now. It will be content with a few days in the fridge if kept wrapped up in plastic wrap, but moisture of any type spells a death sentence for this defenseless rhizome.

Unlike older ginger, young ginger should not be frozen, as its transcendent qualities just don't survive the deep freeze.

Likewise, while some folks recommend storing young ginger in Shaoxing rice wine, I haven't enjoyed it that way at all; the ginger's fragrance and sprightly texture gets lost, and the wine doesn't take on any gingery flavors, so I don't see the point in wasting perfectly delectable ginger this way. If you are faced with extra young ginger, get some good frozen jiaozi dumplings (preferably pork or lamb) and dip them in some tasty vinegar before tossing some of these ginger threads on top. Yum.