yu choy with garlic sauce

Yu choy (also known as choy sum), is a leafy green vegetable used often in Chinese cuisine. It’s high in calcium, iron, and vitamins A & B!

At Chinese restaurants, you’ll typically see yu choy on the menu as an alternative to gailan, and they’re most commonly served blanched with oyster sauce drizzled on top.

Gailan has thicker stems, firmer texture, and just a hint of bitterness, while yu choy is skinnier, typically a bit sweeter, and retains a refreshing light crunch when cooked well.

Did you know that steamingvegetables is one of the best ways to retain the nutrients during cooking? I like to save some of the steaming liquid to make the garlic sauce to retain even more of its nutrients.

Instead of the usual oyster sauce dressing you’d get at restaurants (or even make at home), I wanted to do a different — but still super easy — take on yu choy by making a quick garlic sauce. I hope you like it!

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Yu Choy with Garlic Sauce

A fresh, classic Chinese vegetable that's made even more delicious with a savory garlic sauce.

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Prep Time 5 minutesmins

Cook Time 10 minutesmins

Total Time 15 minutesmins

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 15-18stemsyu choy(aka choy sum)

Garlic Sauce

• 3-4clovesgarlic
• 1tbspneutral oilavocado, vegetable, canola
• 1tspsoy sauce
• 1tspoyster sauceor vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1/16tspsugar
• ¼cupveggie steaming liquid

Instructions

• Wash the yu choy thoroughly to remove any dirt. I do this by swishing them around in a large bowl of water then rinsing in a colander. Remove any yellow or old leaves.
  15-18 stems yu choy
• Steam the yu choy for 2-3 min. 2 min for stems that are smaller than 1 cm in diameter, and 3 min (or more) for thicker stems. They should still be a just a little crunchy. Save at least ¼ cup of the steaming liquid.
• Mince the garlic.
  3-4 cloves garlic
• Heat up a pan to medium heat and add neutral oil. Once warm, add minced garlic and stir fry for about 1-2 mins, or until fragrant.
  1 tbsp neutral oil
• Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Mix well, then add ¼ cup of the reserved steaming liquid.
  1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, ¼ cup veggie steaming liquid, 1/16 tsp sugar
• Cook for another 1-2 min, then pour the sauce over your steamed yu choy. Optionally, you can use scissors to cut the yu choy into 3 pieces to make it easier to eat. Enjoy!

Video

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Keyword choy sum, gailan, yu choy

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