super simple garlic stir-fried kailan

This is a super simple veggie dish that takes literally minutes from start to finish, and will be a great accompaniment to noodles, rice, or potatoes. it's that versatile.

I'm using kailan, or Chinese broccoli. It's one of my favorites because the stem is sweet and crunchy; you want to retain that crunch when you cook it. It tastes like broccoli, but flavor and texture-wise, it's more superior. But you can substitute this dish with broccoli in a pinch.

Our kailan was flowering. so pretty! Too bad, you're going to be scalded in a pot of hot water soon. Heh heh heh.

I like to splice the stems so they cook thoroughly and are done the same time the leaves are done. That way you get fresh, lively-tasting veggies, not veggies that have been boiled to the point of death. Or as the Phantom of the Opera would say, "past the point of nooooo retuuuuurn.."

To do this, just slit the stem in half lengthways, and then slice them again to make quarters, but only slice about halfway through the stem so basically, half of the stem would be whole, a quarter will be sliced in half, and the last quarter is quartered. Just look at the one stalk at the bottom of the turquoise cutting pad above if you are confused.

I also pull of all the larger leaves and cut them in half lengthways. That way you don't have huge pieces of leaves in your mouth at one go.

Rinse them well in water. Sometimes they can be dusted in dirt.

Bring just enough water to cover them to a boil, and once at rapid boil, chuck all your vegetables in. Once the water comes back to a rapid boil, shut your burner off, and drain the water off.  The remaining water will steam up and keep your dish nice and moist.

Return your pot to the still-hot stove, add a tablespoon or two of your delicious garlic oil, season with salt, or if you prefer, soy sauce or even oyster sauce (very Cantonese), mix it up, and serve! *

It's really that simple. You just use the residual heat from your stove top to heat up the oil and mix your veggies up to coat them in the garlicky, salty goodness.  Today it is eaten as part of our lunch together with savory steamed fish and a peppery pork-rib soup.

* When do you use which? I tend to prefer salt over soy sauce for simple vegetable dishes. When the accompanying dishes are as light-tasting as our lunch was, I would just use salt. If not, the flavors of the oyster sauce might over-power the fish. I am a sucker for oyster sauce though. I'd lick it straight out of the bottle at times. Shhhhhhh..