Recipe: Restaurant-style Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce

(Click the above to view 4 pictures. Best viewed with Internet Explorer 7.) I have been asked too many times how to make a simple Chinese greens dish ala Chinese restaurant style...so here it is, the secrets, tips, and recipe to make all your vegetables taste and picture perfect, just like top Chinese/Cantonese chefs do. Chinese greens with oyster sauce is an easy dish to prepare but not many can make it right. I have seen too many overcooked vegetable dishes served—at homes and even at restaurants. Once you grasp the basic techniques and skills of making this dish, you can pretty much cook any vegetables or Chinese greens you want—choy sum, kai lan (Chinese mustard greens), bok choy/baby bok choy, or any green leafy vegetables. Without further ado, I unveil the following secrets, tips and tricks after the jump.... Rasa Malaysia's Guide to Making Restaurant-style Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce: Buy fresh vegetables – select the freshest greens available in your market. Such as the baby bok choy shown in my pictures. Use garlic oil – I use a lot of garlic oil in my Chinese cooking. It adds a lot of depth to simple dishes and infuses the veggie with garlicky flavor and aroma. Use cooking oil wisely – Add a drop or two cooking oil into the water before blanching the vegetables. The cooking oil coats the vegetables so they look fresh and green, not purple. Don't kill your vegetables, they are already dead! – Don't overcook your vegetables by leaving them too long in the boiling water. Perfectly blanched vegetables should be somewhat crunchy, not limp and wilted. Discard excess water from the vegetables before plating/serving – Drain the water from the vegetables so it doesn't dilute the sauce. Excess water in the vegetables will make your vegetable dish watery. Now that you have the chops, complete your Chinese meals with a plate of fresh, green, and delectable Chinese greens. Trust me, vegetables never look or tasted this good from now on. :) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Want more garlic oil and oyster sauce Chinese cooking? Check out these recipes on Rasa Malaysia: Steamed Shrimp with Garlic Oil Stir-fried Napa Cabbage with Garlic Oil Ginger and Scallion Chicken :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Recipe: Restaurant-style Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce Ingredients: Your favorite Chinese greens (I used 6 baby bok choy for my dish) 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand preferred) 1 tablespoon water 1/4 teaspoon cooking oil 1/2 teaspoon sugar 2 dashes of white pepper powder Garlic Oil: 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped) 1 teaspoon oil Method: Prepare the garlic oil first by heating up your wok and stir fry the minced garlic until they turn light brown. Dish out and set aside. Heat up a pot of water and bring it to boil. Add two small drops of cooking oil into the water. Drop your vegetables into the boiling water and quickly blanch them for about 20-30 seconds (depends on the quantity). As soon as they turn slightly wilted, transfer them out and drain the excess water off the vegetables. Arrange the vegetables on a plate. In a wok, heat up the cooking oil, and then add the oyster sauce, water, sugar, and white pepper powder. As soon as the sauce heats up and blends well, transfer and drench it over the blanced vegetables. Top the vegetables with the garlic oil and serve immediately. Cook's Note: For the garlic oil, the garlic will continue to cook in the oil so as soon as they turn light brown in the wok, you should dish it out. Eventually, they will turn golden brown. :)