Choy Sum with Sizzling Oil. Blanched choy sum garnished with green onion, ginger and red chili pepper with smoking hot oil poured over top and soy sauce. A simple delicious vegetable dish that would serve well at dinner and make great as leftovers. Ready in just 15 minutes. This dish is vegan.
I’ve recently been diving a little deeper into recipes from my heritage. My dad is from China and I realized about myself that I rarely post dishes that originate from their that haven’t been influenced or altered by surrounding nations.
So, I’ve been doing more research into the dishes from Sichuan China, as I really enjoy their foods and I learned about this one. I’ve adapted this recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop who developed a cookbook of mainly Sichuan Chinese recipes called “Every Grain of Rice” and I absolutely love reading it. This dish is formerly called You Lin Cai Xin.
This is not a choy sum stir fry but more so a blanched veggie dish that is coated in smoking hot oil and flavoured with aromatics and soy sauce. Making it a very easy and simple dish to cook at home.
What does Choy Sum taste like?
Choy Sum is a sweeter leafy green with a soft stem and soft leaves when cooked. It’s very subtle it’s sweetness and not bitter like other leafy greens.
What does this dish taste like?
The softened choy sum is dressed in the hot oil and soy sauce with the hints of ginger and green onion it’s delicious. Each green is coated in oil keeping it moist from blanching and you’ll taste the saltiness from the soy sauce with the sharp freshness from the ginger and green onions.
Ginger, green onions, oil and soy sauce are common ways to dress veggies and even fish. It’s a healthy but tasty way to enhance the flavours of the main ingredient.
Easy to make!
This choy sum dish is very easy to make. You are simply blanching the washed choy sum in hot boiling water for a couple of minutes then placing them on a plate. Next you’ll garnish it with thinly sliced green onion, red bell pepper for colour and sliced ginger. Then you’ll pour soy sauce over top and smoking hot oil. In Fuchsia’s cookbook she makes a diluted soy sauce liquid which I skipped to simplify this dish even more.
This choy sum recipe comes together in less than 15 minutes making it a great weeknight meal for dinner or leftovers for lunch.
Tips for Blanched Choy Sum with Sizzling Oil
I'll be sharing tips to guide you on how to make this blanched choy sum with smoking oil:
- Use fresh ingredients. I always say this but the fresher the ingredient the tastier the dish.
- When washing the choy sum, make sure to rinse between the base of the stems which is where a lot of the dirt resides
- After washing, bunch the choy sum together with stem bases facing downward and the leaves facing upward.
- Once you heat up a wok of boiling hot water, place the bunch together flat into the water and allow it to blanch until the greens turn vibrant green, about 2-3 minutes.
- After they are blanched, using kitchen tongs pick up the bunch and allow the water to drip back into the wok until there’s little dripping and place onto your serving plate.
- Laying them in a neat bunch will allow for the soy sauce and oil to reach all the choy sum.
- Slice your green onions, ginger and red chili pepper very thinly using a sharp knife. This allows for the flavours of the aromatics to really cook in the hot oil and disperse the flavour into the veggies.
- When smoking your oil, use a neutral oil like avocado, vegetable or canola oil. You would not want to use olive oil or any oil with a low smoking point. I used avocado.
- As soon as the oil smokes, immediately pour the hot oil aiming for the aromatics. Then drizzle your soy sauce all over the choy sum.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about this dish:
Where can I purchase choy sum?
This can be purchased at any Asian grocer. It’s a very popular green that should be easier to find than other Asian greens.
Can I use spring onions instead of green onions?
I haven’t personally tried this ingredient myself, but I can imagine it working well since they both taste very similar.
Can I use a red bell pepper and not a red chili pepper?
Yes. The pepper is more so for colour according to Fuchsia.
Can I use other leafy green?
Yes you can use gai-lan or any other dark leafy green for this recipe and the flavours will work well.
What is choy sum good for? How to use choy sum?
It’s great on its own as a veggie stir fry as a side dish. Asians also love to serve this leafy green with meat, soup noodles or stir-fried noodles.
How to cook choy sum?
Aside from this cooking method, you can easily blanch or boil choy sum in hot water until vibrant green. They can also be pan fried with garlic, Chinese cooking wine and soy sauce for a simple recipe. Other ways you can cook them is by incorporating them into soup noodles or stir fries. Choy sum is not a vegetable that you would roast, bake or deep fry with.
Other recipes you may like!
SWEET SOY TOFU & VEGETABLES
CANTONESE VEGETABLE CHOW MEIN
ASIAN TOFU VEGETABLE STIR FRY
CHINESE GARLIC YU CHOY
STEAMED GARLIC BOK CHOY
CHINESE GARLIC BOK CHOY
CHINESE HOISIN EGGPLANT STIR-FRY
For this recipe
You will need the following ingredients for my choy sum dish:
- 200 grams Choy sum, washed
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced and deseeded
- 1 thumb size ginger, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoon oil, neutral kind like avocado oil
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
How to make Choy Sum with Smoking Oil
- Wash the choy sum ensuring any dirt is removed in between the stems. Do not break stems off the base and keep them as is. Arrange the stems into a neat bunch with stems facing down and leaves facing up.
- Bring a wok or pot of water to boil. Place your whole bunch into the water and blanch for 2-3 minutes until they are vibrant green.
- With kitchen tongs remove the greens from the hot water allowing as much as the water to drip off. Place the bunch on a serving plate and organize them again if needed. They need to be bunched and piled together.
- Next pile your thinly sliced green onion, red chili pepper and ginger on top of the greens perpendicular to the choy sum.
- In the same pot or wok (that is dried of any liquid – important) set over high heat, add your neutral oil. Heat it up so that it is smoking. Once it begins to smoke pour it over the choy sum aiming for the green onions and aromatics.
- Lastly, drizzle your soy sauce over your choy sum. Serve hot and enjoy!
Give it a try!
Well, I hope you give my Choy Sum with Sizzling Oil a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
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Christie
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Easy Quick Choy Sum with Sizzling Oil
Ingredients
- 200 grams Choy sum washed with stems kept together and not broken apart
- 2 stalks green onion thinly sliced
- 1 red chili pepper thinly sliced and deseeded
- 1.5 tbsp ginger very thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral tasting oil with high smoke point
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce (not dark soy sauce)
Instructions
- Wash the choy sum ensuring any dirt is removed in between the stems. Do not break stems off the base and keep them as is. Arrange the stems into a neat bunch with stems facing down and leaves facing up.
- Bring a wok or pot of water to boil. Place your whole bunch into the water and blanch for 2 minutes until they are vibrant green.
- With kitchen tongs remove the greens from the hot water allowing as much as the water to drip off. Place the bunch on a serving plate and organize them again if needed. They need to be bunched and piled together.
- Next pile your thinly sliced green onion, red chili pepper and ginger on top of the greens perpendicular to the choy sum.
- In a dried pot, add your vegetable oil and heat just until it smokes. Once it begins to smoke pour it over the choy sum aiming for the green onions and aromatics.
- Lastly, drizzle your soy sauce over your choy sum. Serve hot and enjoy!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
That was a great idea for using a red bell pepper to help adjust the heat level. I can't wait to see more of the recipes you create from the Sichuan region where your dad is from!